Becoming Yourself…Again and Again
By Rosie Cappiello Taylor
I like to say I’ve been a Great Dame from the very beginning, long before I had laugh lines, white hair, or orthopedic inserts to prove it. Reinvention has been the through‑line of my life, not because I planned it that way, but because curiosity kept tugging at my sleeve saying, “Come on, Rosie…let’s see what else you can do.”
I’ve reinvented myself so many times, I’m basically my own franchise! The following are a few of my best reinventions:
Early in my career, I was a microbiologist, spending my days injecting fruit flies with syphilis. It was precise, quiet work, until I realized I wanted a little more noise, a lot more humanity, and less fruit flies. So, I leapt into customer service, where I discovered that people absolutely know you’re there, and appreciate genuine interactions that help solve their problem.
Then, I reinvented myself as a salesperson, one of only two women in a 200‑man salesforce. Nothing builds confidence quite like walking into a room where every man believes he invented the handshake, and none of them believes a woman has the right to be there. I learned to stand tall, speak clearly, and never let anyone else define my worth. Reinvention, I discovered, often begins with refusing to shrink.
Then came my cosmic chapter. I became the global marketing director for a space systems company, selling planetariums. One day I was talking about bacteria; the next, I was helping people explore the stars. It was the kind of career pivot that makes people blink twice, but it taught me something important: reinvention doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else, and sometimes, you need to say YES, before feeling ready to leap.
Eventually, I founded a global training and development company. After so many careers, I had gathered enough stories, and enough scar tissue, to help others grow. Though I didn’t realize it, reinvention had become my superpower. It lasted over 35 years.
My favorite reinvention arrived much later, when most people assume the story is winding down. In 2022, I decided it was time to tell the stories I’d gathered over the years. So, I became an author. Not a hobbyist, not a dabbler, an author with self-imposed deadlines, characters, and worlds to build.
And here’s the part that still makes me smile, in 2025 at age 80, I wrote an entire mystery trilogy…in one year. Three books. Four senior ladies named Lily who were sick and tired of being invisible, and discounted.
Since 2022, I’ve published two inspirational books in the spirit of Chicken Soup for the Soul, two young adult novels, the Lily trilogy, and most recently, a mystery titled Frankin Stein: Dogs, Drafts & Detectives. This mystery went live on Amazon on June 1, 2026. Apparently, when I reinvent myself, I don’t tiptoe…I cannonball.
People often ask me how I keep rediscovering myself. The truth is simple: I follow curiosity. I say yes before I feel ready. I let myself outgrow old versions of me. Reinvention isn’t about becoming someone new; it’s about uncovering the parts of yourself that have been waiting patiently for their turn.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a lifelong Great Dame, it’s this: you are never too old, too busy, too late, or too anything to begin again.
Reinvention is not a luxury. It’s a birthright.
It’s important to remember that the next version of you is waiting in the wings, tapping her foot, arms crossed, wondering what’s taking you so long.
Rosie Cappiello Taylor has been a Dame for 17 years. Her reinventions have travelled through white lab coats, high heeled sales, angry customers, the solar system, entrepreneurship, and finally at the age of 81, authoring eight books. Rosie believes life is a journey, not a destination, and she’s still moving forward.