What Arthur Brooks can teach us about reinvention

I’ve been really enjoying writing these career journey breakdowns (Gwyneth Paltrow, Martha Stewart…), and many of you told me how much you’ve been resonating with them. So here’s the next one, this time on Arthur Brooks.

Brooks might not be a household Hollywood name, but his story is one of the most fascinating examples of career reinvention I’ve come across. Today he’s known as a Harvard professor, author (From Strength to Strength), and happiness researcher, but he’s had many chapters before that.

And his path illustrates so many of the concepts I use in my work with clients—breadcrumbs, threads, the Zone of Genius, and of course, the power of trying before you leap.

1. Follow the Breadcrumbs

Arthur Brooks began as a professional French horn player, touring with symphony orchestras for over a decade. Music was his passion, and it taught him discipline, artistry, and resilience. But eventually, he felt a pull toward something else.

He started taking night classes in economics while still performing. That small experiment, a breadcrumb, led him away from music and into academia.

Lesson for us: Following breadcrumbs doesn’t always mean abandoning your current chapter overnight. Sometimes it looks like a side-class, a new project, or one small experiment alongside what you’re already doing.

2. There’s Always a Thread

At first glance, music and economics seem worlds apart. But Brooks has said that the common thread across his career is a fascination with human flourishing:

• As a musician: helping people feel moved and connected.

• As an economist: studying how people can build better lives

• As a professor and writer: teaching how to live with meaning and happiness.

Lesson: Even when your career chapters feel disconnected, there’s usually a thread that ties them together. Look for the essence underneath.

3. Try Before You Leap

After leaving music, Brooks didn’t jump straight into a big new role. He tested the waters: enrolling in courses, writing papers, slowly shifting into teaching and research.

Later, when he stepped down as President of the American Enterprise Institute, he didn’t know exactly what was next, only that it was time for a new chapter. He experimented with teaching, writing columns, podcasting. From those small steps came his next full curve as a professor at Harvard and bestselling author.

Lesson: You don’t need the full map before you start. Small experiments help you move from overthinking into clarity. (This is exactly what I mean in my Try Before You Leap Guide.)

4. The Zone of Genius

Brooks often talks about the “second curve”, the idea that our strengths evolve as we age. He’s a great example of this: what once showed up through music later expressed itself through economics, and now through teaching happiness.

Here’s how his Zone of Genius breaks down:

• Passions (what): music, human connection, human behaviour, happiness, economics. These have evolved over time, but they’ve always circled around people and flourishing.

• Purpose (why): to lift people up and bring them together using science and ideas.

• Gifts (how): communication — public speaking, writing, researching, conceptualising, interdisciplinary thinking.

Lesson: Your passions may shift, but your deeper purpose and gifts often remain quite steady. That’s why your Zone of Genius is less about locking into one thing forever, and more about recognising the evolving ways it wants to be expressed.

5. You’re Never Starting From Scratch

Brooks’s musical career wasn’t wasted. It gave him discipline, stage presence, and the ability to connect with audiences. All of that carried forward into teaching, public speaking, and writing.

Lesson: Reinvention doesn’t mean erasing your past. Every chapter adds to the next.

Arthur Brooks is a reminder that reinvention is less about a single “big leap” and more about following breadcrumbs, honouring your thread, experimenting as you go, and trusting your gut.

What about you? Which breadcrumb in your life is calling for more attention?

Love,

Naama