A college science professor asked her students to determine how many lighted candles equal the light of the sun. One student lit 1,000 candles, then asked the professor's opinion. "You need to light more," she said. The student lit 1,000 more candles, but received the same response.

Spurred by the challenge, he lit another 5,000, still with no success. He persevered until he had lighted 25,000 candles. "You need more," the professor responded. Exhausted, the student cried, "I give up. How many?" "You missed by six," she replied.

Many people give up before attaining their objectives. For them, striving for a goal is like running a marathon blindfolded: They run fast for a long time but never know when they're nearing the finish line.

Individuals considering a career change are often in this dilemma. They can't reach their destination because they don't know where it is and don't have a map to guide them.

For employees who are unhappy in their current fields or occupations, developing a plan to do something else seems like a no-brainer. Surprisingly, though, most discontented professionals and executives don't bother unless a job loss or other crisis forces them to re-evaluate their lives. They'd rather remain dissatisfied in their current jobs than challenge themselves to do something different.

Deciding to make a career change becomes even harder as you reach mid-career. By then, you're likely to have a family, mortgage, car and a mountain of bills. Switching careers might jeopardize your income, especially if you decide to do something entirely different.

Another problem is simply not knowing what else you'd rather do. You may know you're unhappy but have no idea what other professional options you'd prefer. To get where you want to be, you must evaluate where you are now. The following steps can help you assess your current status and make a plan for the future:

1. Understand your needs, values and priorities. Consider opportunities you'd like to pursue and what might stop you. Define your mission, then believe in yourself and your ideas enough to achieve it.

Without a vision for what you want your life to look like, you'll be relegated to a life of chance -- gaining success only by coincidentally being in the right place at the right time, not by controlling your destiny.

Ask questions to clarify your interests and hidden goals. Where are you now in your career? Have you accomplished what you hoped by this age? If not, why? What's gotten in the way?

In 1993, 34-year-old Desiree Rahmann left her job as a care-center leader with the University of Chicago Hospitals. Her first step was to review her skills, abilities, interests and goals. This evaluation convinced her that she wanted to be a doctor and combine her administrative and clinical skills in an inner city or rural clinic. To achieve this long-term objective, she needed to complete medical school.

She felt she could enroll in medical school within three to five years. In the short term, she wanted a job close to home that would use her clinical administrative skills so she could be near her 11-year-old son. She accepted a position with an insurance company near her home and continued to pursue her medical interests. This September, with the support of her husband and son, she started medical school at Rush University in Chicago.

For six years, Linda Smerge worked long hours as corporate attorney for a prominent Chicago retailer. But she became frustrated by the 70-hour weeks, constant travel and lack of career and life fulfillment. She did an intensive evaluation of her interests, goals and needs and found that her heart was in teaching -- a field she'd left early in her career. This analysis, followed by an exhausting job search, led her to her current position -- as an art instructor in a suburban Chicago elementary school.

2. Create a plan. Once you've established your priorities, it's time to create a plan that centers on your answers to the following questions: What do you really enjoy doing personally and professionally and can you turn your personal interests into a way to accomplish your life's objectives?

Attainment of goals is by choice, not chance. You choose to list personal goals, determine what's necessary to achieve them, identify barriers to success, commit to overcoming those barriers and put the plan into action.

It's been said that "an objective without a plan is a dream." Consider formulating the plan in three stages. The short term is what you'll achieve in the next year, the midrange goals are to be reached in three to five years and the long-term objective is where you want to be or have achieved by retirement.

After a career in restaurant management, Pam Picard was eager to explore other options. She analyzed her skills and how she could mesh her extraordinary interpersonal, presentation, training and customer-service skills with her quality-of-life needs. This process led to her being hired as the first human-resources director for a family entertainment center company near her home in Crete, Ill.

In the mid-1980s, Margaret Rudd's position as director of public relations for a Wisconsin hospital was eliminated. A single parent of a 12-year-old, she wanted to stay in Wisconsin so her daughter could be near her father. She also had an ambitious long-term goal -- opening a bed and breakfast -- that would support her and allow her to spend more time with people.

In the spring of 1996, Ms. Rudd and her second husband opened a newly constructed B&B on Lake Superior. While it had taken 12 years, her personal commitment and hard work helped her to realize a dream.

3. Visualize your retirement. What does retirement mean to you? What would it be like? By identifying your desired location, lifestyle and activities, you'll create a game plan that can help you achieve these objectives.

Don't rationalize that you're too busy or young to be concerned with retirement. According to some estimates, only 5% of baby boomers will have enough money to maintain their current standard of living when they retire. If you're in a younger group, your senior years may be even more economically challenging.

For 15 years, Bob Norton held corporate sales jobs at Procter & Gamble and Xerox Corp., then became an investment banker. An athlete with a particular interest in football, the Wheaton, Ill., resident developed a long-term goal. His objective is to build a portfolio that will allow him to retire at 45, live off the earnings and coach high-school football. Now 43, Mr. Norton says he's expects to attain that goal.

Career growth doesn't always require switching fields or employers. Decide if you can achieve your goals where you are now before looking elsewhere. Do any internal opportunities match your interests? How would changing jobs or departments affect your long-range plans? But don't stay immobilized in a position that's wrong for you or at a company where you aren't recognized.

Take Time Out for You

Even if you like what you're currently doing, review your career every few years to ensure that you're headed in the right direction. You may rationalize that you don't have time to explore new career options. There's always time for what's really important, though. Allocate a set amount of hours each week to "time for me." Put yourself in your daily planner as a reminder. Then use the time to visit a career coach, college career center, library or job-search club (see a listing of clubs in CareerJournal's ).

Become a relentless networker. Talk to everyone, including friends, neighbors, colleagues and members of professional associations about your desire to move forward in your career.

Attaining and maintaining a network of contacts and resources is essential to career success. Be a resource to others, and they'll be glad to help you in return. Says author and businessman Harvey MacKay, "The most important word in business isn't effort, creativity, strategy, cost, selling or teamwork -- it's Rolodex".

To make a career change, you must leave the safety of living on automatic pilot. Examine who you are, why you exist and what you believe, then make a commitment to aligning your work and your spirit. Doing something different at this stage of your life may seem risky, and you'll feel that you're losing control. It's normal to be frightened by uncertainty, but think about it. No one knows what's around the corner. But by creating and following a career plan, you'll be in charge of your own destiny.

--Mr. Jones is a partner with First Transitions Inc., a corporate-sponsored outplacement firm in Oak Brook, Ill.