Cooking is not my forte, but I try. I intended my latest concoction to be interesting, new, and easy. It was a soup, made with nontraditional ingredients, and it won rave reviews at a neighborhood potluck. No one could guess all the ingredients, so it won the “unique” dish award. When asked what inspired me, I had to be honest and say, “When you’re not doing the same thing day in and out—that’s when innovation and creativity abound.”

Think back to your first few jobs. Remember when you first started and what your perspective was during the first few months? Did you wonder why things were being done the way they were? Then, as time went on, did you become entrenched in the company culture and fall into the rut everyone else was in? Did you become so steeped in the daily reports, meetings, deadlines, and politics that you stopped thinking creatively?

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