Did you ever open up a large box of golf balls? They're quite plain, right? A big box of white, 1 ¾ inch diameter balls. The only distinguishing feature is a slightly different number stamped on its indented surface.

For those of you who saw the movie "Forrest Gump", did you think at the time that your life was like a box of chocolates ("you never know what you'll get")? Or did you think your life was far from being like a box of chocolates?

How about your work life? I can think of several times when my work life was a lot more like a box of white golf balls: boring, unchanging, and I knew what I was getting every time.

Making positive changes to my work that fit "who I am" took risk and persistence. Sometimes I received support and sometimes I didn't. Sometimes certain people cheered me on from the sidelines, and sometimes other people boo'ed or were silent. There has been feast and there has been famine.

The point is that you need to take charge of your work life and career. What kinds of things do you want to be doing? What environment do you want for your work?

Be creative. Brainstorm. Meet with people who know you well (people who can dream) to brainstorm with them. Network with people you know and with people who know the people you know. Find out what people do for a living. Begin to tell them about the kind of work you want to do. Is anyone doing something similar to what you want to do? Is anyone in a related field?

Continue to hone in on a description of what you want to do. Write these things down.

If your work life is more like a box of plain white golf balls, these are some steps to take to change those golf balls to multi-color.

Meanwhile, if someone knows where I can buy some pink golf balls, please let me know.