There was a time when I thought “starting over” meant failure.
It meant something had gone wrong. That a chapter had closed for reasons beyond my control, and I was left to rebuild from scratch.
But over the years, I’ve realized something completely different.
You never really start over.
You repurpose.
I didn’t learn that in theory. I learned it the hard way, through three life moments that I thought were endings, but turned out to be transformations in disguise.
Life Change Repurposing Lesson 1:
When I Had to Leave the University of Waterloo
I was fortunate to get there because of how difficult it is to get accepted. It represented everything I thought I was supposed to become: fulfillment, direction, stability.
When I had to drop out because of my lack of responsibility, it felt like the floor fell out from under me.
I remember sitting and questioning, staring at the unfinished chapter that was difficult to acknowledge to anyone.
What I didn’t realize then was that nothing I had learned was lost. The principles, the curiosity, the drive, they didn’t vanish just because my environment changed.
Leaving school forced me to see learning differently. It wasn’t confined to classrooms or degrees. It was a mindset.
And that realization became the foundation for how I approached everything afterward: What I already know can be repurposed.
Life Change Repurposing Lesson 2:
When I Stepped Away from Full-Time Ministry
Years later, I faced another kind of loss. This time, not academic but personal.
Being a youth pastor was more than a job to me. It was a calling, and walking away was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.
At first, it felt like purpose had left the room.
But again, life had other plans.
I began to see that the calling wasn’t gone. It had just changed format.
I still felt drawn to teach, to encourage, to help people grow. I just wasn’t standing in front of a youth group anymore.
Everything I learned in ministry, communicating ideas clearly, connecting deeply, helping people move from confusion to clarity, became the very tools I now use in my work helping others express their message and repurpose their content.
That’s when I realized something powerful: purpose can evolve without disappearing.
Life Change Repurposing Lesson 3:
When My Wife Became Disabled
Nothing prepares you for the kind of change that affects every corner of your life.
When my wife became disabled, everything slowed down, not by choice, but by necessity.
In that season, priorities changed. My time, energy, and even definition of success had to be repurposed.
There were days when I felt like everything was on hold. But looking back now, I can see that those days were reshaping my focus, quietly teaching me patience, empathy, and perspective.
Repurposing wasn’t about efficiency anymore. It was about meaning.
It was about seeing how love, responsibility, and purpose could take on new shapes without losing their substance.
What All Three Moments Taught Me
In each chapter, I thought I was losing something permanent.
But each time, I was being repurposed: my direction, my purpose, my understanding of what truly matters.
Life, I’ve found, is a lot like content.
We create it, live it, and sometimes outgrow it. But that doesn’t mean it’s wasted.
We can take the best parts, the lessons, the wisdom, the passion, and reshape them into something that fits the next version of who we are.
That’s why I no longer see change as an interruption.
It’s just the next phase of repurposing both in life and in the work I do now helping others repurpose their ideas, experiences, and messages into new forms that reach more people.
Every time something changes, I ask one question:
“What can I carry forward?”
Because there’s always something worth carrying.
Final Thought
If you’re standing in a season that feels uncertain, don’t rush to rebuild from zero.
Pause and look back at what still holds value.
Chances are, you’re not starting over. You’re just being repurposed for what’s next.