Beware of “burn out.” This usually happens after you have achieved a short-term goal. You pat yourself on the back and decide to “kick it up a notch,” but your body is at the limit. You have to listen to your body. Although you can make improvements “in leaps and bounds,” it is not a machine.

Use different approaches: Walk, use cardio machines, swim, and use weights. If you are bored, jump into a group fitness class such as Yoga, Pilates, cardio kickboxing, spinning, aerobics, body shaping, or something else. You may find one of them to be your “calling.”

Don’t knock anything until you have tried it. Many people perceive an exercise to be one thing, until they are deeply involved in it. There’s nothing wrong with being the only man in a Yoga class. Also, there’s nothing wrong with being the only woman in a martial arts class.

Fitness is an equal opportunity environment, so get the stereotypes out of your head and don’t buy into classic excuses. I had a client with Cerebral Palsy on one side of her body. She had also been involved in a traffic accident, which caused permanent damage to her knee and ankle, on the other side of her body.

She used to drive an hour from her home in Massachusetts to our location in North Providence, Rhode Island. She was around 60 pounds over her ideal weight. She never made excuses or missed an appointment. She lost all of that weight within two years, and she is now a personal trainer.

Make sure the people you surround yourself with are supportive of your goals. For example: It’s hard to lose weight if your husband insists on bringing home a supply of Big Macs every night. Your resolution may turn into a disaster if this is the case.

You may have to adjust your lifestyle to be persistent, positive, and goal oriented. Once you carry through, and succeed with one resolution, it will be a fantastic experience. This is the beginning of using goal-setting skills to enhance the quality of your entire life.

Lastly, remember this all started with writing down a plan that I mentioned in Part One. Your resolution should be as detailed as possible. Clearly define your resolution with realistic time frames and deadlines. Your odds of following through, making progress, and reaching your goals, will exponentially increase just by putting it in writing. Consider this a contract with yourself.

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

To some people it means driving a flash car and flashing wads of cash around to show they are doing well. To others it is spending time with their family, having achieved happiness in their life.

Your personal idea of success, and being successful will differ from someone else’s, but is very important to you. Without spending some time thinking about your success, how will you know if you are achieving it? Take some time now and think about it.

Now start working towards it, and set goals to make you successful.

Goal setting is important to your success, so you better do it right too. Here are some important things to remember about goal setting

1. break your main goal (success) into smaller ones

These small steps towards an ultimate goal are in some circles known as "eating the elephant" because you couldn’t eat the whole elephant in one go, but cutting it into bite sized chunks makes it possible to achieve a seemingly impossible task.

2. Don’t set unachievable goals- when you don’t hit them they will be a major setback.

You wouldn’t decide to climb mount Everest on your first hill walk or expect to build your own house because you have a new toolkit, so be realistic about your goals here too.

3. Write them down, and make them real, also imagine life as it will be when you have achieved each goal.

The human mind works on visualization, athletes across the world use this technique, seeing themselves in their own minds eye crossing the finish line first. They imagine how it feels, the sound of the crowds cheering etc. Then the mind can focus on making it real.

4. If you miss a goal, or deadline, take it as a minor setback not total failure, and try again.

The best analogy I’ve heard for this is of an ocean liner crossing thousands of miles of sea. On its way it may drift off course many times, but the captain will make a slight adjustment to get it on track each time. He knows its not a total failure to be slightly amiss along the way as long as you correct it and end up where you are going.

These steps will take you towards your individual success ideal, whatever it may be. You will meet adversity, and failure along the way, but take it in your stride. Always keep just your next small goal in mind and eventually you will find you have reached and even surpassed the main goal you had set, without even noticing it.

Douglas Titchmarsh runs several websites, and blogs including http://www.cashinonline.info and http://www.titchmarsh.com

Ten ways to improve chances for success:

1. Be realistic – Make sure that the resolution(s) is realistic. For example, losing thirty pounds by the end of February is not safe or realistic. Set yourself up for success by setting one or two reasonable and attainable goals that stretch your capabilities.

2. Write down your goal and action steps – Breakdown the goal into achieveable parts called action steps. With the completion of each action step you are moving closer to accomplishing your goal.

3. Set a time table – Without aspecific completion date your resolution is only a wish.

4. Read the resolution(s) each night before bed and again when you wake up.

5. Determine what you will sacrifice – Accomplishing your resolution will take time and effort on your part. What habits and behaviors are you willing to change in order to reach your goal?

6. Be determinated and miminize excuses. You will face some hurdles as you strive to be successful. Avoid making an excuse a roadblock that stops you from reaching your goal. Measure your progress toward reaching your goal. Your action steps and the completion date are two valuable tools to check your progress.

7. Use positive affirmations like “yes, I can and I will.”

8. Minimize the Bummer Words” words – “no, can’t, won’t, never, maybe, and if.”

9. Ask yourself each day “Did I give my best effort today’s activities?” An honest answer will help you stay focused and move you closer the successful completion of your New Years Resolutions.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Good luck! This is your life! Your goals! Your success!

You are a WINNER!

- # -

For your FREE subscription to “Teaching Moments” visit the website at: http://www.TeachingMoments.com 314-664-6110

John Bishop is the is the author of the Goal Setting for Students® book which has recently won three national parenting book awards.

He is also the Executive Director of Accent On Success® an organization dedicated to giving parents and teachers the tools they need to help children succeed in school and in life.

Would you like to be sure that your personal goals are consistent with your business goals? (Yes) (No)

You might have certain personal goals that are, or become, divergent to your business goals.

For instance, let’s say that you set clear personal goals to compete in the Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii. Obviously, to compete in an arduous event like this you not only have to train rigorously, but you also have to qualify by competing in a number of prior triathlons, placing high enough in these events to earn a bid fro the Iron Man in Hawaii.

At the same time, let’s say you are married with two kids, and you have set some very aggressive professional goals, which include starting your own business and making it profitable within a 2-3 year time horizon.

Given the fact that the average new entrepreneur puts in 60-70 hours per week and you have family responsibilities to consider, chances are you will experience major goal conflicts in your life when it comes to competing in triathlons. Something has to give.

Do you give up your sports goals, your business goals, or your family?

These are tough decisions.

They all boil down to making sure that your personal and professional goals are compatible.

The process of setting synchronous personal and business goals speaks to the importance of setting a clear and workable life strategy. The process of creating a life strategy includes the homogenization over time of personal and business goals. Unless you unify your goals there will be goal conflict, which fosters turmoil in your life.

For the best results, you need to start by creating a life strategy that makes sense to you in terms of satisfying all of your personal and professional aspirations, leaving quality time for your family, and fitting everything into a reasonable time schedule.

In general, people today work too hard, play too hard, and neglect their health and rest time. It is truly a challenge to fit everything in and lead a balanced life.

At the end of the day, at the end of a career, if all you have to show for all of your hard work and hectic schedule is a large net worth while your family never saw you, and your health suffered terribly because you drove yourself too hard, you have to ask yourself, ‘Was it really worth it?’ Take it from expert workaholics, balance your life, plan your life, and enjoy your life -you can take happiness and love with you, money you cannot.

Keep in mind, there are always trade-offs in this process of goal setting and life strategy building. It is important that you weigh all your options in order to make choices that support a healthy and happy life for you and your family.

Yes, it may take a change in mind-set, career, lifestyle, or even location to balance your life, still be productive, and achieve the goals that you want to achieve.

About The Author

Charles and Holly Egner are veteran entrepreneurs. They have trained, coached, and mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs. Their last entrepreneurial venture sold for just under $400 million in 1999. BuildOnYourDreams.com was founded to help aspiring entrepreneurs build the business of their dreams. Free Teleseminar and eCourse, visit http://www.BuildOnYourDreams.com today.

In this world there are two kinds of people: Dream Achievers and Dream Bullies. Dream Achievers give life to dreams. Dream Bullies harass or destroy dreams. If you want to be a Dream Achiever, you must learn two things: how to avoid Dream Bullies and how to seek the company and support of other Dream Achievers.

Dream Bullies are, unfortunately, everywhere: in our families, work environment, spiritual community, gym, circle of friends, neighborhood club. Some of them are easier to spot than others. They all share one thing in common: they are afraid of dreams. They are afraid to take risks and make their innermost desires a reality. For this reason, they like killing everyone else’s dreams, as soon as they are aware of them.

How to Spot A Dream Bully

You can easily recognize Dream Bullies, once you know their main characteristics. Here is what to what for:

Dream Bullies:

• Get energy from harassing or destroying dreams.

• Are afraid and judgmental of creativity, creative ideas and creative expression that comes in any shape, color or form.

• Kill their own or other people’s creative ideas as soon as they are born, very often without even realizing it.

• Are workaholic and spend enormous amounts of time in a work they secretly or openly dislike.

• Usually disguise their fear of creativity under the mask of “practical”, “reasonable”, “down to earth”, or “too busy with ‘real’ responsibilities”.

• Claim to “know what’s best for their children” but, in fact, they ignore their children’s natural talents and pressure their children to follow a path against their own wishes.

• Generate frequent crises that keep their family, friends or co-workers distracted from pursuing their dreams and creative ideas.

• Have chronic mysterious health problems that draw constant attention and worry from their significant others, and affect the progress of their family members or work colleagues.

• See potential where it doesn’t exist. As a result, they waste great amounts of time, energy and money supporting people, ideas, and projects with no potential. When they are disappointed, they convince themselves and others that they were victimized, exploited, and “taken for a ride”.

• Enjoy great pleasure from other people’s failures and suffer pain from their successes.

Movie characters who are Dream Bullies:

Real Women Have Curves: Carmen Garcia, Ana’s Mother

Field of Dreams: Mark, Ray Kinsella’s brother-in-law.

Billy Elliot: Jack Elliot, Billy’s father

How to Recognize A Dream Achiever

Dream Achievers are the complete opposite of Dream Bullies.

• Draw energy from making dreams reality. This gives them a constant purpose that becomes ever more deliberate with failure.

• Recognize failure as a natural part of the growth process and allow themselves and others to fail in order to learn.

• Use their mind like a fresh sponge to absorb knowledge from every mistake they make, and then squeeze this knowledge out into their next effort to do better and better.

• Get their inner clarity from staying connected to their dream. They are aware of their inner needs and concentrate their actions on fulfilling them.

• They always know their goals are but they also know that they are in a constant process of learning. For this reason, if they fail, they do not dwell on what should have happened, but focus on how they can do better from now onward.

A great example of a Dream Achiever is that of Thomas Edison, who tried 20,000 times before he created the incandescent bulb. He never considered any of his attempts as a failure. Instead, he called them his 20,000 steps to success. He used to call failure “the greatest teacher of great inventors” and consider it essential in the learning process. He was a Dream Achiever who kept his laboratories staffed with hundreds of fellow Dream Achievers, all people who approached failures as opportunities for strength.

Now, think: if Thomas Edison had allowed a Dream Bully to kill his dream during his 20,000 efforts to put electricity in a bulb, how would the world be today?

Movie Characters Who Are Dream Achievers:

Working Girl: Tess McGill
Music of the Heart: Roberta Guaspari
Real Women Have Curves: Ana Garcia
Rocky: Rocky
Chariots of Fire: Eric Liddell

How Movies Can Help You Avoid Dream Bullies

Once you spot a Dream Bully in your immediate environment, you must do one thing and one thing alone: do not let him/her see your dream. Instead, seek support from allies who have nothing to lose if you make your dream reality. Create a plan of action that deflects the Dream Bully’s attention to other matters, irrelevant to your dream. If necessary, create a mock tragedy to keep the Dream Bully occupied and entertained. In the mean time, go after your dream! Only you can do it!

Using movies for inspiration to follow your dreams can help you stay on track. Complete the exercises in this section. From the following list, pick one or more movies and watch them alone or with friends. Then, answer the questions that follow.

• Field of Dreams
• October Sky
• Billy Elliot
• Working Girl
• Real Women Have Curves

Questions to Answer:

1. What is the main character’s dream?

2. Who is the Dream Bully?

3. How does the main character disarm the Dream Bully?

4. Is there a Dream Bully in your Life?

If you answer “no”, then you are very lucky! But if you answer “yes”, I suggest that you:

• Create a support group of people who are after a dream, goal or aspiration.

• Use Reel Fulfillment: A 12-Step Plan for Transforming Your Life through Movies as a guide to make your dreams reality. You learn how to follow a step-by-step plan to success using movies for inspiration.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maria Grace, Ph.D., is an expert at teaching people how to learn lessons from popular movies to find the job, home, relationship, and healthy body and mind they want. She is a Fulbright scholar, licensed psychotherapist, sought-after public speaker and coach, and the author of “Reel Fulfillment: A 12-Step Plan for Transforming Your Life through Movies” (McGraw-Hill, 2005). “Reel Fulfillment” was praised by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the top “self help books out of the self-help box” for 2005-2006.

For more information visit http://www.mariagrace.com and http://www.reelfulfillment.com

Many elementary school children know the miracle of Charlotte’s Web. Weaving the words "Some Pig" into the center of her web, Charlotte keeps Wilbur from the frying pan. E.B. White’s story provides some fascinating guidelines for web spinning.

Charlotte’s wisdom assures Wilbur about what matters. On the one hand, when Wilbur tries creating his own web, she instructs, "You can’t spin a web…and I advise you to put the idea out of your mind." Wilbur lacks "spinnerets, and … know how". She also informs Wilbur, "…you don’t need a web." However with some "know how", every webmaster may weave a "terrific" web. A spider called Charlotte offers wise suggestions.

Have a plan.

Wilbur had no plan to save himself from the butcher, and when first asked, Charlotte did not have much of a plan. She does suggest the importance of "working on it", and in her case, "hanging head down…that’s when I do my thinking". Don’t suggest you turn yourself upside down, but do suggest taking time to ponder YOUR plan. When Wilbur asks if he can help, she says, "I’ll work on it alone". I am convinced that you must design your own plan when weaving your web. Stay away from templates and pre-made web site designs. Generations of web designers preceded Charlotte; she mimicked the structure, but not the content. Her choices evolved from her unique and distinctive plan.

Have a purpose.

Charlotte promises keep Wilbur from ending up as a holiday meal. She concentrates all her energy toward this one thing: saving Wilbur’s life. Every web site has to have a clear cut purpose. Whether a site provides a specific message like "Terrific Pig" or a site’s directory offers vast resources and information. Essentially you, the web master, must own the purpose with passionate determination. Spider webs provide entomological evidence that what you create lives from you and feeds you.

Have patience.

Wilbur worries (who can blame him). Web masters worry too. Charlotte gives Wilbur practical advice. "Get plenty of sleep, and stop worrying". Nothing wears down commitment more than worry. I’ve done it for months wondering if the efforts made will produce the results wanted. Daily checks of stats and Google Adsense & ClickBank revenue reviews wear you down if the rewards accrue slowly. Charlotte knows better, she could wait "hour by hour…deep in thought". Finally, an idea (or a fly) would show up.

Charlotte’s lessons pass on to generations of web weavers. Each of them understands one essential and inalterable lesson, "…we are going out into the world to make webs for ourselves". I am not suggesting you reject or ignore skillful helpers; I am suggesting that the decision of what your web represents remains yours. Always weave your own web.

About The Author

Ray Randall serves clients as a registered investment advisor with Ethos Advisory Services, Essex, Massachusetts http://www.ethosadvisory.com. and coordinates the developments at Echievements . Ray holds a Masters Degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Hamilton, MA. You may email him or call (877-895-3756).

rayrandall@echievements.com

How many times have you made resolutions on New Year’s Eve, just never to look at them again, never mind actually acting on them? How many times have you made resolutions, started the year doing everything right, and found yourself giving it up after a couple months?

There usually are only two reasons why people don’t stick with their resolutions:
· The resolutions are not truly aligned with what they want to do or who they are
· They bite more than they can chew

In other words: If you don’t truly want this change at all levels, and/or if you try to do too much at once, it won’t happen. To take an example, let’s use the most common New Year resolution and my experience with it: Weight loss. In survey after survey, people cite it at their #1 New Year resolution. However, when people are asked a few months later how they are doing on it, it is also one of the ones that are the most often abandoned.

Why is that? First, people may not be fully ready to lose weight. They realize that they need to at an intellectual level, but their heart tells them a different story. In my case, I gained extra weight in the past five years, and had wanted to lose it for at least two of those years, but it wasn’t happening. Even worse, I kept gaining weight, and the one or two times I set out to lose, I regained what I had lost within two to three months, and then some. Sounds familiar?

I was breaking both of the keys to having long-lasting resolutions: I wasn’t truly in harmony with myself when I was saying that I wanted to lose weight. My intellect wanted it, and I wanted to look good again, but another part of me didn’t think this was such an issue, and didn’t want to be bothered with the effort and discipline necessary to make it happen. Furthermore, I wanted it to happen FAST! I just wanted the pounds to melt.

The key to change for me was to actually stick to the two keys of success above: I changed my goal to something the mental, intellectual and emotional parts of me could be fully in agreement with: Feel better physically - I was just tired of always feeling tired and having sugar crashes! I started also with bite-size efforts, and efforts that, again, I was feeling in complete agreement with myself about. In my case, this translated with committing to at least 15 minutes of exercise a day, 5 days a week. It made me feel so good that I quickly increased it to 30-45 minutes, but this came about because it felt right, not because I had decided that that should be the progression, and I would make it happen no matter what. I only committed to 15 minutes a day!

During that time, I didn’t lose weight, but I didn’t gain either! The second shift happened when I changed my outlook about food and what food is. For me, the key was to start to see food in terms of those that nurture and those that hurt my body. Since then, I have lost 10 lbs, and plan on losing more.

So now it’s your turn.

Take an hour or so to yourself, without significant other or children to interrupt you. Write down the things that you would like to accomplish in 2006. Now, read each on of them in turn, and ask yourself if you are in complete harmony with this goal: When you read it out loud, or in your head, do you feel this deep feeling that you just know it will happen, or does your little voice start to say "Fat chance", "you’ll never manage it", or "I don’t want to"? If the latter, is there another way you can look at your resolution or goal that silences the little voice in your head? Remember, for me it was reformulating it from a weight loss issue to a physical well-being issue.

Then, think about how to keep your resolution for the short term. What is the amount of time that you know you can devote to it every day or every week. It doesn’t need to be a long time, it just needs to be an amount of time you can stick with over the long term. You will know when you have the right amount of time because your little voice will stop blabbering, and you will instead feel like this is easy! Try 15 minutes a day for size, but, if all you can commit to is 5 minutes a day, than commit to 5 minutes a day. This will get you 5 minutes closer to your goal every day!

If you want more accountability for it, share your resolution and how you will achieve it with someone else. Feel free to share it with me. And then, on a regular basis, touch base with your accountability person, to measure your progress.

Karin Vibe-Rheymer-Stewart, creator of the SuperWoman Relief Systems, is a Holistic Time Management expert who wants you to make the most of your time, find time for yourself and reduce your stress. Visit her website at http://www.SuperWomanRelief.com for more information and to subscribe to her free monthly SuperMom and SuperWoman at Work newsletters, or contact her at info@SuperWomanRelief.com.

Weve all read about personal goal setting. Weve all tried it. According to the stats, most of the time we all fail.

I often used to slap hand to forehead and mutter through clinched teeth, Idiot! after realizing that I have, yet again failed to accomplish even the simplest of personal goals (much less the grand New Years goal). Over the years, though, I have managed to develop a cohesive method for curing this ailment (as well as curing the ever-present handprint on my forehead).

Making a positive use of the once negative pet name that I had for myself, I developed Idiots Guide to Goal Setting. Ready to cure the ever-present handprint on your forehead?

First, there is one pre-requisite before launching forth.

Before we even get out of the gate, we must first get beyond the list of things that should be our goals and first commit to making ourselves priority and believing that what WE want IS important! Too often we are convinced that what we should do for ourselves is what we want to do for ourselves. This is not the case.

Push aside the should thoughts and focus on what you passionately want for yourself. What are you willing to commit to and see through to the end?

In order for this commitment to be different from all of the others you must have a support system that will uphold you when the tide of daily life rigors begins to arrive once again.

This is the essential ingredient that most people dont include when they make a commitment to change. The following 5 steps are designed to help you create a resolution that is clear, specific, and planned out with the necessary support and accountability to make this swing at goal setting one for the records!

5 steps to success with goal setting

1. Keep It Simple!

There’s a temptation, to generate a list of everything youve ever wanted to change. Don’t fall for it! You’ll have better luck fulfilling one or two goals than you will with a list of fifty.

2. Be Specific

Let’s say your goal is to create a better balanced life between health, relationships, and work. Word this carefully. Try not to think of it as "I am going to balance my life." That’s a tall glass of stress ready to be gulped! It forces you into thinking of the resolution as something you must do, not something you want to do.

Make it sound a little gentler: "I’m now going to explore different ways of balancing my life." This also suggests more of a plan. You will fulfill the goal by experimenting with strategies for life balance.

The first phrasing sounds as if you’re going to force yourself to have a balanced life by sheer willpower.

3. Make the Plan

Once you know what your goal is, plan it out in clear steps. Your plan doesn’t have to be a complicated one. Start by answering the question, What is the first step I need to take toward accomplishing my goal?

For life balance, it might look like this:

1. Work no more than 40 hours a week
2. Walk 3 times a week
3. Create a date night for significant relationships

4. Write it Down

Write down your goal and your plan of action. Stick it up on the fridge or in your office. Write in the activities in your day timer or wherever you know you’ll see it. That way you’ll have a constant reminder of the resolution.

5. Get Support! In order for this goal to be different from all of the others you have set, you must first have a support system that will uphold you when the tide of daily life rigors begins to rise. This is the essential ingredient that most people dont include when they make a commitment to change. All of the previous steps hinge on this one!

Personal (or Life) Coaching is a perfect example of such support. Accountability, guidance and clarity are the prime focuses of these practitioners. Coaching sessions are devoted completely to setting and accomplishing your goals. Unlike family and friends, a coach is objective, well trained and committed to seeing your goals come to fruition.

Regardless of the goals you set for yourself, what is most important is making yourself priority and committing to living the best life possible with the minimal amount of handprints on your forehead!

© 2004 by Dr. Robert A. Eubanks

Article URL: http://www.bridgetosolutions.com/pages/9/index.htm

Terms of use: This article may be published electronically or in print, as long as the byline at the end of the article is included without alteration.

About The Author

Dr. Robert A. Eubanks is the founder of Bridge to Solutions Coaching. He coaches people around the country via telephone to improve organization, time management, goal setting and to create the best darn life possible!

For a free 30 minute coaching session, e-mail bridgetosolutions@yahoo.com or visit www.bridgetosolutions.com.

Whether you call them unproductive patterns, limiting beliefs, or simply bad habits, for some reason, as a new year approaches, many of us resolve to make some changes. The resolve part is easy. How do we actually execute a successful change campaign?

A few times a year, a hypnotherapist colleague and I conduct self-hypnosis workshops. An integral component is goal-setting. The following recommendations are part of that.

1. 1. Realistic & a Slight Stretch. Be reasonable in what you choose to change. You’re the one who has to implement this plan. Examine your motives for this change. Is it for yourself, or to please others? Make your target just a bit beyond what you think you are capable of.

   2. Be Clear. As it says in the book, The Law of Attraction, make a list of what you don’t want as a step in creating your list of you do want. Form a WRITTEN affirmation that is positive. Avoid the use of negative words (don’t, won’t).

   3. Be Specific & Flexible. Avoid comparative words (less, better, more). One of the main advantages of establishing goals is that they provide motivation and direction. If you fall short of your stated goal, don’t beat yourself up. Celebrate what you have achieved.

   4. Paced & Measurable. One of the reasons many people don’t bother with setting goals is that the process to achieve them often seems daunting. This is easily overcome by chunking goals into smaller units. For instance, monthly or even weekly mini-goals can be more palatable.

   5. Announce Your Goals. Find friends or colleagues who will support you in your objectives. Share your plans and timelines. Now, your reputation is on the line.

   6. In Your Face. For the most part, the mind processes information visually. In addition to whatever words you use to describe your goals, begin cutting out representative pictures from magazines. Paste them on posters and put them all over your world. That means bedroom, bathroom, car, desk, and anywhere else you can think of. Information that is captured by your peripheral vision is not usually analyzed by the conscious mind. This means that as you walk by your posters, your peripheral vision will convey that data directly to your subconscious mind, thereby reinforcing your goals. In addition, even if you haven’t been trained in self-hypnosis, you can relax with soft music and visualize your goals. Make your visualizations as vivid as possible.

   7. Changing Habits.Many people think that it takes 21 to 30 days to form a new habit. Actually you can establish a new habit in only 5 days. What takes up to 30 days is the release of the old habit. Once the new habit is formed, it competes with the old habit for dominance. Every time you exercise the new habit it gets stronger, and the old one becomes weaker. The reverse is also true.

Following these recommendations will improve the odds of succeeding in your resolutions for 2006.
Happy New Year.

International speaker, Dr. Brian E. Walsh, is the bestselling author of Unleashing Your Brilliance. For much of his 30-year corporate career he was involved in human resources, specifically training.

While living in the arctic, Brian studied anthropology and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), which prepared him for working with other cultures. He was then transferred to China where he served as his company’s GM.

After his return to Canada, he elected early retirement to further his earlier interest in NLP and hypnotherapy. He returned to formal study, and within four years had achieved his Ph.D. His dissertation, which focused on accelerated learning techniques, inspired his passion and his book, “Unleashing Your Brilliance”. Information is available at http://www.UnleashingBook.com

Dr. Walsh regularly conducts workshops on accelerated learning. He is a master practitioner of NLP, an acupuncture detoxification specialist, an EFT practitioner, and a clinical hypnotherapist.

Subscribe to his monthly eZine, "Enriched Learning" at http://www.UnleashingBook.com

Have you ever had something you wanted just fall into place; come to you through an out-of-the-blue phone call or by coincidentally meeting someone on the street? Have you ever met the perfect client or life partner–just by being at the right place at the right time?

Many of us have various ways to describe this phenomenon; serendipity, coincidence, fate, karma, luck, it was meant to be, self-fulfilling prophecy, what comes around goes around, and success breeds success. All of these expressions describe what is known as the Law of Attraction.

Law of Attraction can be defined as: You attract to your life whatever you give your attention, focus and energy to, whether wanted or unwanted.

If you wish to attract more money, referrals, clients, contracts, business partners, or anything else your heart desires, it is essential to understand the workings of the Law of Attraction.

The first step is to know more about our use of Declarative Statements and how they contribute to Law of Attraction. A Declarative Statement is a positive statement of what we want to attract, that elevates our mood or feeling. Examples include: "I love the way money comes to me effortlessly in expected and unexpected ways.", "It feels so good knowing that business comes to me in all seasons." and, "I love the way my reputation attracts clients to me."

When people fail, it’s often because they have unconsciously made Declarative Statements to themselves that are negative, such as: "Money comes in one hand and out the other.", "I take one step forward and two steps back." or, "My business slows down during the summer months." These statements have negative feelings and moods attached to them.

Re-read the definition of Law of Attraction: We attract into our lives whatever we give our attention to, whether wanted or unwanted. Law of Attraction responds to these negative feelings and gives us more of them. Law of Attraction does not know whether it is something you want or not; it simply responds to your mood or feeling and gives you more of it.

Each time you hear yourself make a Declarative Statement that does not serve you, simply restate it and offer a better mood or feeling. Here is a quick way to turn a negative statement into a positive Declarative Statement.

Simply ask yourself: "So, what do I want?"

The moment you define what you do want, you start to experience a new mood or feeling, and Law of Attraction will respond to this better mood or feeling.

Over the next few days, start to notice what is appearing in your life, that is, what you are attracting. Then think back to what mood or feeling you may have offered that could have attracted what appeared. You’ll soon find yourself manifesting more and more of what you do want, and less of what you don’t want, by deliberately putting the Law of Attraction to work for you.

Michael Losier, a Law of Attraction Trainer and author, supports people in understanding and practicing the Art of Deliberate Attraction, so they can have more of what they want and less of what they don’t. Michael has been applying the principles of Law of Attraction for many years and enjoys a wonderful and rewarding life in the city of Victoria, BC, Canada. He facilitates a number of in-person Law of Attraction seminars as well as Teleseminars to a worldwide audience.

For more articles by Michael Losier, Teleclass information or to purchase the book, Law of Attraction, The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t, visit http://www.LawOfAttractionBook.com.