Education is the key to your career development plan. It’s never too late! Community colleges are an excellent source for career ideas, career counseling, and a great place to plan the next move on your journey. My best friend in Arizona lives near a community college and frequently signs up for any class she can literally get her hands on—she took a piano class—neither she nor I can imagine a life without going to school.  A few years ago, at a time when I was dissatisfied with my job and without a definite career plan in place, a friend suggested that I take a college class. Take it from me; I had trepidations at the first thought of re-emersion into the college life. My initial thought as I entered my Creative Writing class was: “I bet I’ll be the oldest student in here.” Quickly, I became the hippest “go-to” student in class because my vigor and zeal outlasted that of the younger students. I made age 40 the new 20 while exploring my new career ideas. My instructor, too, became an integral part of my life at that time because I was dissatisfied with my job and she eventually became a mentor—she was excellent at job coaching and offering resume tips.

I refused to let the restrictive patterns of the job I held define the parameters of my career. Instead of sinking into a sea of discontent, I chose instead to swim through pages and pages of course listings until I found something else to sink my teeth into. I decided to treat the world like one big hiring manager conducting job interview questions and answers. Today, my career development plan remains intact; that is, as long as there are classes to take, I’ll take the opportunity to learn.

My best friend and I agree; when you put education into your life, you will gain so much out of it-for the rest of your life. So, if you’re feeling a bit undecided about what your next career move will be, remember this: “If you focus on results you will never change, but if you focus on change you will get results.”