How do you measure success? Do you measure it by standards set by your parents, peers, teachers, coworkers, bosses or your spouse? Do you let others tell you that what you’re doing will count for nothing in the long run, even though they have no idea what your long term vision or intent is?

Do you measure it to your own standards? If it’s a business goal, do you compare to this time last year? If it’s a personal goal, have you improved over the last self-assessment that you did on this subject? If it’s a health goal, are you moving toward your target? Only you can truly answer these questions. Let the evidence of your efforts be your guide. You’ll know if and how much harder you’ll need to work in order to attain that number that you’ve selected, whether it be reps, pounds, cholesterol levels or a target weight.

Does the fact that we’re all trying to survive, let alone get ahead in the midst of the greatest economic recession in human history stand in the way of your plans for the future or are you unflinchingly pursuing them without heed to criticism or prejudgment?

Don’t be dissuaded by naysayers ad ne’er -do-wells that have given up on their own dreams and given out on their own ability to see past their failures. Use these as examples of what to avoid on your way to your own personal achievements.

Would we have light, let alone these computers we’re using to read and write this article if it weren’t for Edison’s countless failures on his way to successfully creating that first incandescent bulb? Would we have the theory of relativity if Einstein had listened to his teachers early in his education that told him that he had a problem with mathematics?

The list goes on and on of some of the greatest minds in human history only having succeeded after what most would consider catastrophic or debilitating circumstantial failures.

Success is a measure of human spirit. It can not be quantified or measured by electronic or other equipment. It can, in fact only be speculated upon by the criticism of others. True success is only measured in the eye, heart and soul of the individual who set out to and attained that goal.

Be that go-getter. Be the Goal-Getter! Take your hopes, dreams and aspirations and work them down into manageable tasks that, when put together, will surpass your hopes. Done properly, the end can in fact be much more than the sum of its parts. The “You Factor” is what makes the difference. It is why YOU are the only one that can truly measure the level of your success.

As the end of the year approaches, it invariably coaxes us into looking back on what we have and haven’t gotten done over the past 12 months.

Although some people make very public resolutions each January, the quiet reflection back on the dwindling year is done with either a solemn melancholy or a jaded smile. There is always so much more that we “wanted” to do.

Well, if you’re serious about moving forward into the new year and the beginning of the second decade of the new millennium, push your chair back, stand up, raise both hands in the air and shout,

“2010 IS GOING TO BE MY MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR EVER!!”

…ok, you can sit back down now

Now, before you go making lists of resolutions about how you’re going to make your first million dollars this year, take a deep breath. Let’s look at this realistically.

Let’s say for a minute that you DO make a million bucks this year. Certain things MUST happen in order for you to see that become a reality.

Imagine, no…..BE that person that managed to make their first million in a year. How does it feel? No, really…how does it feel to have all of your bills paid?…how does it feel to be living in your dream home with NO mortgage?…how does the steering wheel of that new sports coupe feel in your hands?….how does it feel to run your business from anywhere in the world?

Once you’ve got the true sense of what that $1,000,000 would feel, smell, sound, taste and be like for you, take it to the next level. How many other people could you help with that kind of money (and more) in your accounts?

In order to get to that lifestyle that you so vehemently want and desire there are certain decisions that have to be made. There are also certain sacrifices that must take place. Are you willing to sacrifice now for the delayed gratification that seeing a successful project to fruition brings?

We’ve got to filter every decision that we make today, tomorrow and each and every day until that dream becomes reality, through our already successful mindset. Make the decisions each day that will make the difference in your tomorrows.

Please leave your own plans for the coming year in the comments section below. Share your dreams and you may find unexpected help.

Taking the time to really know yourself, to really trust what your attitudes, reactions and expectations will be in any given situation is one of the keys to being successful in anything that you do.

More and more business people are doing their own form of “restructuring”, except that it has nothing to do with the business that they’re in. Writers like Ekhart Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz, Alberto Villoldo, Dan Millman and many others are influencing and changing the way that many business people view themselves and their lives.  Increased self knowledge will only help you make better business decisions.

Before you set out on the rising path toward success, you have to be sure that you know who you’re working with.

You are both your own best advocate and your own worst enemy. It all depends on your attitude and intent. If you allow yourself to fall into the corporate mentality that profit is the ONLY thing that you’re in business for you may be missing out on your true purpose and calling.

Just because you’ve always been an underachiever, doesn’t mean that you can’t turn those habits around and begin to trend toward choices that will provide more and better opportunities for you and your business. Begin right now to make the choices that will positively effect your tomorrows.

As they say, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow’s a mystery…today is a gift, that’s why they call it the “PRESENT”. Don’t miss the opportunities that arise each and every day. Don’t get caught up in the rhythms of the masses.

By the same token, just because you’ve always seemed to be in the right place at the right time for opportunities to “fall into your lap” doesn’t meant that the same will continually hold true. No matter what label you put on it, whether you call it karma, kismet, fate, destiny or luck, the fact is that what IS won’t necessarily always BE.

How secure can any of us feel in these trying times?

Millions of Americans are out of work right now. If you consider the scale and the value of the dollar, the chasm of this recession makes the great depression look like a golfer’s divot.

People want answers. They also want direction. Many have been in the same career positions for decades, only to find themselves now faced with a forced early retirement and a pension that won’t support them; if they were lucky enough to not lose that too.

Those same people are now having to look inside for the answers that they relied on their employers to provide. Simple questions that get taken for granted like; how will I pay for my groceries next week or how will I pay the mortgage?

What they’re discovering after looking within is that they have the strength and motivation to do whatever it takes to provide for themselves and their families.

As they re-evaluate and begin to re-structure their own lives many realize that there are things that they LOVE to do, but their corporate or factory job prevented them from ever enjoying them. That tinkering in the garage workshop or knitting afghans now becomes not only something that you love to do, but you begin to see it as a viable option for your future.

Therein lies one of the keys to success.

Make a living doing what you love and you’ll never WORK another day in your life.

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• Don Miguel Ruiz, Bestselling Author of “The Four Agreements”, In Toronto April 9 to 11, 2010 (newswire.ca)
• 9 Secrets Toward Stress Free Living (capecodholistic.com)

Success means many different things to different people.  Ultimately, success means being satisfied with your result.  Using this attitude and breaking your task down into smaller tasks can make a large job seem so much easier to handle, and assure your own sense of success.

The secret really is, to begin with your goal in mind and think backwards from there.  As an example, if my goal is to earn $250,000 this year, it may seem daunting at first, but once you break it down into bite sized little chunks it’s actually quite digestible.  In order to earn $250,000 a year, I’ll need to earn just under $21,000 per month which again breaks down to about $5,200 per week.  If we break that down even further, and base it on a 40 hour work week we need to charge an hourly rate of $130 to reach our goal of $250,000 this year.

If we translate this idea from a monetary one to one of gaining subscribers perhaps, just decide how many subscribers you would like to have on your list this year, break that goal down, backwards into bite size chunks as well.  Once you have a traffic system in place that will guarantee you visitors you can grow a list of 100,000 subscribers by breaking them down into only about 12 subscribers per hour for the whole year.  While 100,000 subscribers seems like an unreachable goal, if you look at it as trying to get to the point of 10 to 12 subscribers per hour it doesn’t seem quite so impossible does it?

While many equate success with owning the large home and the boat and the second home and a large SUVs, they have found very little fulfillment in those objects and until they can find personal success, they will never feel truly successful.  Take the time to work yourself, being a well-balanced individual, physically ,mentally and spiritually, and you will find your path to success in business much easier to handle.

Every aspect of our business should be a reflection of ourselves.  If you can take pride in who you are and the way you represent yourself to the world you can also take pride in your business and the way it represents itself to the world.