Ok, it's 2010 and here's where you fill in the blank... 2009 was the Year that ______________.

Was 2009 everything you imagined, hoped, or planned?  For five years in the late 1960's and early 1970's, there was a very funny and phenomenally successful TV program called "Laugh In."  It was hosted by two comedians named Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Part of their "shtick" was a segment called, "That Was the Week That Was" wherein a review of the previous week was hosted by politicians, celebrities, and the cast.  Being a comedy show, everything was either made fun of or couched in a humorous and frequently, irreverent manner.

We're now deep into the first week of 2010.  Did you make any New Year's resolutions?  Did you actually write them down on paper?  How are they coming along?  Trivia time... following are a few Resolution Statistics:

    Just 15% of people hold fast to resolutions for the long-term.

There's one more statistic; the majority of people DO NOT make resolutions because they feel that they "will not" keep them.  That line of thinking is plain wrong!  You should not put yourself in with the "BUNCH!" Just because others did not succeed at something has nothing to do with whether or not you will succeed.  When 85 percent of people discard their New Year's resolutions, that also means 15 percent do complete them.  And when those people succeed, their lives are different, they're improved, and they feel good about themselves.  And more importantly, their success puts them in a position to set and achieve higher goals compared to others. As we mature in life we learn that "Success breeds Success."

Research shows that people who set goals are happier and achieve more in life than those who fall victim to aimless wandering and hoping.  Those same studies confirm that when people write down their goals and evaluate them regularly, they achieve much more.  What do you risk by setting new goals for yourself this year?  NOTHING!  Have you examined the possible rewards? They are ENDLESS!

When someone says, "I don't believe in making New Year's resolutions", what they're really saying is, "I don't believe in myself."  Most people dream about having a better life and having better health.  Many even talk about it... play the lottery... hope for SOMETHING to change.  But, when nothing "happens," most people chalk it up to fate - "Some people are lucky and some people are not." If this is the way you see your life, you believe success is a matter of luck, and that means you believe your future is out of your control.  So you hope for something "to happen" that will change your life for you. You become the victim of Life.

Being on the other side of this wall, I feel good believing that I am in control of my own destiny - as such, believe that by increasing my knowledge, developing my skills, sharpening my thinking, and controlling my emotions, I can accomplish a great deal.  And the best way to do that is to see things happening, to set goals, and pursue them with total vigor and energy!

Since adopting this personal philosophy, I have gradually changed the way I think about everything in my life, the way I think and feel about things, and the way I manage my resources - including my time, relationships, skills, knowledge, and finances.  This simple process has greatly improved my Life, and it can enhance yours, too.

This year, 2010 can be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest year of your life.  Here's the caveat... It begins today, not tomorrow.  It begins now.  Set your goals this very moment!  Don't put it off any longer!

Stick With It!!!

A while back I read an article about climbing the success ladder of some world class celebrities.  They began by performing in some of the seediest, rudest and noisiest joints located in the most violent parts of the city.  The audiences were offensive and vulgar, frequently throwing insults and sometimes even bottles at them.  Fights regularly broke out and drunks crashed the stage occasionally striking someone, all the while being yelled and cursed at by the owner screaming, "On with the show."   (Kinda sounds like The Blues Brothers...) Throughout it all they kept performing, sometimes for more than eight hours straight.  Tempers ran short as months went by and they couldn't get a paid gig. At one point things got so bad they didn't eat for days and even played for a cheesy strip-tease act for a meal.  Thinking they would have a better chance, they decided to go to another neighborhood and perform.  Still, they made so little money they skipped more meals, dodged hotel bills, and finally began sleeping on the streets in a car.

Never losing faith and working as if they were their only source of success, they stuck it out believing their day would come.  When they looked closely at the current music scene, they knew they had something unique - something new.  They even wrote and sang their own music always believing it would ultimately catch on.  Once, one of them said, "When we write and perform, it's like Music of the Spheres; it just passes through us natural and complete."  To be certain they were music illiterates, raw, uneducated and nary a one was able to read or write a single note.

Working diligently to get a recording contract, they were turned down by every major company.  Only a few companies even permitted a studio test.  They were constantly told, "You're just another mediocre wannabe rock n' roll band." When they finally caught an audition with Decca Records, the biggest company in the industry, they failed miserably.  The uninterested director said, "Guitar groups are on the way out."  After being turned down by a dozen companies, dejected, ready to give up - they agreed to try the two remaining companies.  Gathering all their energy, they enthusiastically marched into the next-to-the-last studio, sat before the mikes and began 1-2-3-4, and once again they sang their songs.  Following a lengthy lecture on technological details, the producer asked, "Is there anything you don't like?" and one of them quietly whispered, "Yeah, I don't like your tie."  It made him laugh.  Perhaps he could market their charisma... certainly not their music. Of that he said, "Frankly, their material didn't impress me, least of all their own songs.  I felt that I was going to have to find suitable material for them and was quite certain their songwriting ability had no marketable future."  He gave them a contract anyway; based entirely on the grounds of their "enthusiasm."  The same producer said later he didn't exactly think "they were the brightest stars in the heavens" but he liked their engaging personalities and thought they were "worth a shot."

Their first release made it to number seventeen on the charts, but only because their manager bought up 10,000 copies with his own money.  Even when they gained some popularity, their first album in America went nowhere.  The record company considered them a "one or two hit wonder" and refused to release it. Later the company changed its mind and released it with much fanfare.

But that was after several number one songs, after the superb reviews from both amateur and high brow music critics, after the explosion of adoring fans, the British invasion had arrived. After the famous night in 1964 when, the largest single viewing audience to date... 73 million television viewers heard a triumphant, "Tonight we have a really big show..." and Ed Sullivan proclaimed:

"Ladies and Gentlemen....THE BEATLES!"

Our motto is, "Make the Rest of Your Life, The Best of Your Life".