"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Proverbs 29:18

Happy New Year to you! A new year, a new beginning. If you're like most people, you've probably flirted around with New Year's resolutions: You've said, "THIS is the year I'm gonna lose weight and get in shape. Starting January 1st, no more snacking. I'm joining the health club and I'm gonna work out daily. I may even do my first marathon." What happens? By February 1st (the latest ...) you're back on the junk food regimen, you've been to the club a total of five times (you're "just too busy to get there"), and you've filed that marathon application in the trash. And you've concluded, "Resolutions don't work for me." (You've got a lot of company on that one ...)

Maybe you need a better approach. Instead of making a mental resolution, create a Mission Statement. The difference?

A Mission Statement is:

• a handwritten or typed-out paragraph
  
• posted someplace you can see it regularly
  
• committed to memory
  
• has specific, measurable outcomes
  
• has a deadline - in this case, December 31st

Here's a process you can use right now to create a Mission Statement for personal success in your career or business, go to our FREE Online Mission Builder.

I hope you give this deceptively simple exercise a try, and I encourage you to follow the guidelines above of posting it where you can review it, committing it to memory and reciting it daily. Then you won't need to make any more fruitless resolutions.

Success Skills Coach Jim Rohrbach, "The Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business," coaches business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals on growing their clientele. He has helped hundreds of individuals to achieve their goals since he developed his first coaching program in 1982. You can visit Jim on the web at www.SuccessSkills.com.

Jim Rohrbach, Success Skills Coach
The Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business
Email: Coach@SuccessSkills.com
Web site: http://www.SuccessSkills.com