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Chapter Sixty-seven: Happy holidays!

I wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year. I hope everything about 2006 was positive – and that the next year ahead will be your best yet.

Some things I would like to leave with you before the year wraps up and the frantic pace of 2007 begins:

1. Goal setting. If you are not setting them for your personal life and your business, 2007 will be no different than 2006. Set goals – and think BIG! What do you truly want to accomplish over the next 12 months… starting all over… with a fresh slate… and anything is possible?

2. Look back on what worked in 2006 and do those things again. It’s amazing how many things that DID work are overlooked if you don’t write them down. Make a list of everything that made you money, got you exposure, sold well, got response from clients or prospects, made you feel good, etc. Then do them ALL OVER AGAIN.

3. The opposite of #2.... find out what didn’t work… then delete it from your vocabulary and don’t bother with it again this year.

4. Attending high priced seminars is one of the greatest investments you can make. Not just for the world-class information you pick up… but the networking in itself is more than worth the investment in the seminar.

I don’t know how many deals, joint ventures, and long term business alliances I have created over the past 5 years at high priced seminars… enough to keep me happy for quite some time.

Don’t be cheap here – find the right seminar content for your needs – research the presenters – and invest the money. It will be returned many times over.

Make sure you take a digital camera (take photos with those you meet), lots of business cards (make sure there is something good on your cards to entice them back to your site), and make sure you send a thank you card to everyone you meet.

5. Assess your competition (and your non-competitors, which can be where some of the greatest breakthroughs come from). What are they doing right that you could try? What are they not doing that you could start doing? How can you make their techniques work in your business? How can you take ideas from completely different industries and modify them to use in your business.

6. Ask others for help. You don't have to do this alone. In fact, going it alone is the slowest way (and least productive) to make your year the best ever. There are people online and offline willing to help you hit your targets in 2007. Form a mastermind. Find a coach or mentor. Scout out those who ARE successful, and find ways to add value to their lives in trade for their advice on your goal achievement.

I hope you have a great holiday and a very prosperous new year.