"Your Personal Reinventions For 2014"

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is the season for personal resolutions and reinventions. We invited you to share your big changes at work, home and in life. And here is a bit of what we heard back from you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DEBBIE LIBERATORE: Hi. My name is Debbie Liberatore(ph). I live in Commerce, Georgia, and I'm 61 years old.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LIBERATORE: My husband is a bodybuilder. He is 62. Recently, he started getting into contests and I was going to the contests. And I was watching all the women. I noticed that I thought I looked better than half the women up there.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LIBERATORE: So, the next time a contest came up, I entered. And I competed against younger women, like teens in their 20s and 30s and I came in third place.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LIBERATORE: When I won, I was shocked, but like now that it's been a couple months, I think I'll probably try it again. Maybe I'll get in first place this time.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

TODD SALLA: My name is Todd Salla(ph), 30 years old, have been living in Chicago for the past eight years. The one big thing that I'm going to be changing in my apartment for the new year is the fact that I will be joining the 21st century again with getting wireless Internet in my apartment. It's just it's time.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

HOPE LAWRENCE: Hi. My name is Hope Lawrence(ph) of Charlottesville, Virginia.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LAWRENCE: When we were in New York, I worked for Standard and Poor's as a product manager and David piloted unmanned submarines with the oil companies. And we loved New York. It was a great life. But I just had this dream of having my own business and kind of living in the country.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LAWRENCE: My first son was born, then my second son was born and we finally said, yep, this is it, let's move to the country. I, you know, officially formed the Hudson Henry Baking Company and we sold our first bag of granola.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LAWRENCE: The big scary leap was not having a paycheck anymore and not having health care. And, you know, if you say let's live the good life but, you know, the good life is sometimes - it's tough but I love it. I mean, I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LINDA BURKE: I'm Linda Burke(ph). My husband and I recently decided that we would like to have an adventure. And so we decided that this year we would rid ourselves of all our worldly possessions, except for what would fit in our truck; our camping gear and the things that we would need on the road and take off and find the ocean. I've never been to the ocean and he wants me to see it before we get too much sicker. We're both disabled.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BURKE: He's had two strokes. He's had two major heart attacks. And I have degenerative disc disease and Parkinson's, and it's, you know, progressing. Mine is progressing faster than his.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BURKE: We've narrowed it down to five boxes of pictures and mementos and things that really were precious to us and we stacked those in a friend's attic - bless her heart - and we headed out.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BURKE: You know, there's nothing worse than a regret. Nothing worse than having regrets. Take the chance and do it. Make the changes in your life that you think will help you to grow.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

WERTHEIMER: That last voice was Linda Burke. Also, Hope Lawrence, Todd Salla and Debbie Liberatore.