Just recently I watched an episode of NBC's Parenthood that I thought was truly inspirational. I guess that personal dreams and career change touch everyone. Even writers in Hollywood.

If you're an avid viewer of the series, you know that Amber is in her junior year of high school and is poised to either head off to college after she graduates from high school or maybe not - it depends on Amber. Sarah is Amber's mother and desperately wants Amber to go to college. Sarah is doing her best to keep Amber far away from the same mistakes she made in life. It's a pretty common story; Sarah got married young, didn't go to college, and now works as a bartender. Do you see why Sarah might be concerned?

Without getting too terribly much deeper into Parenthood, Amber of course is not as interested in college as her mother would like her to be right now. In fact, education is not at the top of her list.

Long story short: the interesting twist in the episode was that Amber saw that Sarah could grow if she went back to school. And, it wasn't until her child brought up college and handed her the course catalog that she even considered the thought. Sarah didn't really think about her own career change.

After that rather lengthy lead in, here is where I am going with this. Are you one of those people who have simply headed off to a job you dread everyday just because it hasn't dawned on you that you can actually make a change?

It might be time for a change. Ask yourself:

• What is really important to you right now? In three to five years?
• What is holding you back from making a change?
• What would need to happen to get you to make a move?
• What if your failure was not an issue?
• What if your fear were not a factor in making change?
• What kind of person would you have to be to make that happen?

And, finally, do you need help achieving your personal dreams? If this is something that is really important to you, get help.

Work doesn't have to be something that you dread. You no longer have to buy into the myth that work must be drudgery. In fact, you can make a living and you don't have to sacrifice your happiness to do it.

No one is saying it will be easy or happen overnight. And, it has to be important to you. If it is important to you, identify a viable career and market, research your options, and make plans. Take small steps rather than leaps. Keep moving forward - you can achieve your goals.