1. Create realistic goals. Your goals need to be achievable. Once you have accomplished your goals you are energized to move forward to accomplishing new things.

2. Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to you. How have you moved forward since last year? Of course you have. What goals did you set out to achieve? Are you making progress? When comparing yourself to others you only tend to create unrealistic expectations of what and where you should be. Be the best YOU you can be.

3. Write it down. Written goals are more achievable. Some statistics report that you are 50% more likely to achieve your goals if they are written. Here’s why, you have a thought you right it down, you read what is written. This creates a three step process where you have cemented the idea in your head making it more achievable. It is amazing to see the people you attract once your goals are clearly defined. Doesn’t it feel great to check off an item on your to do list.

4. Think about it. Take time to reflect on what you want to do, not just what you should do. Are your goals and values in line with what you really want to do? If not, this is why you may be experiencing some resistance in moving forward.

5. Get the help you need. You can’t possibly know everything and that’s ok. So how will you get to where you need to go? Mentors and coaching may be critical to your advancement. Be open to learning from others.

6. Visualize your success. Take time to see yourself where you want to be. Picture yourself having already accomplished your goals.

7. How you say it. It is imperative to create your goals in a present tense format. “I will create new products for my business by June 2010? Be specific and confident in what you tell yourself. Keep in mind you are overcoming a lifetime of voices in your head that tell you you can’t do it.

8. Do something about it. Now that you have put time into the thought of where you want your business to go, you have mapped out the steps on how to get there, just do it! Waiting for the perfect moment is the wrong approach. It is better to move forward with imperfect action than to wait for the perfect moment. It will never arrive.

9. Positive Reinforcement. Relieve yourself of any negative influences that tend to drag you down. Surround yourself with people that energize you and are achieving their dreams and goals. Like minded people will lift your spirits and help you soar.

If you sincerely analyze where you want to go, take action daily and review your plan regularly, you will move forward in your advancement. Many times we are our own worst enemy when it comes to success. Try to understand what is getting in the way and why. You will be great! Carry on. 2010 awaits great things for you and your business.

In this topsy turvy world, finding balance is quite a challenge.  An interesting statement from Dr. Kathleen Hall from A Life in Balance  said ”We have overstretched our personal boundaries and forgotten that true happiness comes from living an authentic life fueled with a sense of purpose and balance.” Where is the time we need to manage everything we have to do???  A

Wow!  No wonder you feel that managing all of the things you want, need and have to do is not so easy.  By simplifying your life and finding balance you can weather the storm of this new economy with confidence and greater ease.  Here are 5 things to help you still be productive and successful at work along with keeping your personal life in tact.

Focus on the positive
It’s too easy to spiral into negative thinking while epidemics are breaking out, job losses are at an all time high and foreclosures abound in our neighborhoods.  So to turn it around make a quick list of 5 things that you are thankful for.  You may find yourself getting carried away and your list keeps growing.  As we see what is important in our lives we regain balance.

Simplify
Don’t over commit your personal resources.   Leave some wiggle room for having an off day or the unexpected event needing your attention.
 

Play
Let’s hope you didn’t forget how to do this.  Take a moment to be silly with your kids or do something you enjoy.  A short break from the pressures of work will do wonders for your mental outlook.

Take Care of You
Just 15 minutes of meditation a day can restore the balance you are looking for. 

Just Do It! 
You’ve heard the Napolean Hill quote Eat that Frog! everything else will seem easy after that”  Watch this short video and you’ll be on your way to leaving procrastination behind. Ever wonder why you are so exhausted when you haven’t really done what you need to do.  Just the thought of taking on the task of something you know you have to do can be paralyzing. Procrastination is an energy waster.  Try it, make a list of what you need to do.  Tackle the most difficult one you’ve got first.  Everything after that is a breeze.

The principle works like this: Your degree of satisfaction is directly proportional to your degree of focus on what satisfies you.

Put another way: If we don’t focus on accomplishing worthy goals that will satisfy us, time will pass anyway, but we won’t have anything significant to show for it.

Few of us have clear goals and even fewer of us ever write down what we want to get out of life. We have probably heard that written goals are helpful but we don’t really believe it. We don’t think it will make a big enough difference to make it worth our time. We don’t believe it because we don’t practice it enough to get good at it.

TRY THIS EXPERIMENT
For the next 30 days, value yourself enough to take 15 minutes each morning to write down what you want most out of your life. This may be painful, but you will probably find that it is worth it.

Here’s why: You will be programming your subconscious mind to work on your behalf to make you aware of opportunities that you are now missing out on completely.

Why are we missing opportunities? It’s because our brains are acting as a filter. You see, each of us is constantly being bombarded by billions of bits of information. We can’t possibly focus on everything. To protect us from sensory overload, some things just don’t get processed. What criteria does the brain use to determine what gets through? It lets through the information that we have told it is important to us. Have you ever decided to buy a particular model of automobile? Once you focus on a specific model of car, they magically appear all around you in quantities you never realized existed. Those cars have always been around but your subconscious mind kindly spared you from having to deal with that information because it did not matter to you. But once your brain knows that that kind of car is important to you, you notice every one.

How can we put this to work for us? Well, extensive experimentation in human behavior has proven that the act of writing goals down over and over again is an extremely effective way to program our subconscious mind to focus on getting what we want out of life.

So here’s the procedure to follow: get out a pad of paper and find a comfortable place to write. Next, ask yourself: “What do I really want to accomplish in my life?” Then, write down the things that come to your mind. Write down what really matters to you. If you write down: 1. Take out the trash, 2. Buy groceries, etc. you will have only yourself to blame if that’s all you get done. Then, the next morning, do the same thing all over again. Don’t just copy what you wrote yesterday. Write again, from the heart, what you want out of life.

At first it may be difficult to write anything. We are not used to consulting ourselves about our true desires. However, after a few days of following this routine, answers will begin to flow.

Here’s what will happen next: Your subconscious mind will become so involved with your major goals that they will begin to affect every decision you make. At this point you will begin to see a profound change in how you use your time. Your productivity will go up substantially. So will your satisfaction with life. Try it for 30 days and let me know what you think.

PS – I’d like your success stories and your objections. DB

Contributed by SpeakCorp Member: Dave Bernas   

View Dave’s Profile at:  http://members.speakcorp.com/profile/83