I believe that it's impossible to be human without being creative. Creativity is a defining characteristic of our species, and is related to urges like hunger and thirst. It impels us to strive, make and build, have ideas, be resourceful, make discoveries, solve problems, and craft our futures. Creativity might be repressed, it may go to sleep, but it doesn't die until we do. We are all creative from birth to death.

Creativity shows itself in infinite ways. Whether it's an especially elegant way of organizing a space, teaching someone to read, knitting a sweater that fits (my yet-unmet life goal), leading a team through a satisfying project, or baking a soufflé that "turns out," large and small creative acts are a daily part of living and integral to a fulfilling life.

Last week I was having coffee with a friend who is, to turn a phrase, "wired." She doesn't have a nervous condition - she's just a natural networker who actively uses the "Big Three" social and professional networks, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

We were talking about why so many of us aren't comfortable networking face-to-face, and the subject of Facebook came up. She casually remarked that she has only 200 friends on Facebook because she wants to limit her network to people she actually knows. 200 friends? I didn't show it, but I was dumbfounded!

I have only 40 Facebook friends, which makes me feel like the kid nobody wanted to play with in grade school. To make matters worse, I have one friend whom I've never met, another who interviewed with me for a job nine years ago, and another who is my cousin's 13-year-old daughter.

Enter LearningLife's Transition Workshop series, which kicks off on October 17.

Transition Workshops are designed to help participants prepare for the next stage of life by allowing them to take a step back, rekindle their sense of purpose, make new connections, explore options, move toward meaningful "encore" work, and embrace community engagement.

These half-day workshops feature lively interaction with a community of learners, presentations from outstanding experts, and practical strategies and tools attendees can employ in their own lives.

With all due respect to Mr. Dickens and Dr. Seuss, I believe that seven is the most storied, and frankly, the most feared, of all famous numbers, even if you throw in heavy-weights like Twelve Steps, Nine Lives, or Five Tips to Lose Stomach Fat, which was the first result I got when I googled "famous numbers."

Why seven? How about the Seven Days of the Week? Or more to the point, how about the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, anger, envy, greed, gluttony, lust, and sloth. I cannot tell a lie, so here I must admit that by the time I was 30, I was guilty as charged on all seven counts. In fact, just last night I was listening to John Fogerty singing a song called "Heaven's Just a Sin Away." If all it takes is just one, a whole bunch of us are in real trouble.