"Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention."
(Sharon Salzberg)

With the New Year getting closer, what choices will you make that will affect the direction of your life? In which area(s) of your life did you experience the most challenge in the past year? -relationships, money, health, personal growth or your career? 

Whatever you believe was missing in 2008, it is yours, waiting to be claimed in 2009!

The first step is to make a conscious choice about the things you would like to attract, create or change and the things you would like to let go off.  Consider all of your relationships, ways of being, beliefs, goals, attitudes, behaviors, perceptions, habits, and even material things. Identify the things in your life that are draining you, as well as the things that are nourishing you.

When we don't challenge ourselves to create or to grow, we get stuck in the present and feel anxious about the future. When we don't make a conscious choice, the past creates the future. That is also a choice!

When you set goals for 2009, the choice of intention is the most fundamental choice you will make. The experiences you attract into your life are determined more by your intentions than your actions.

One person may donate money to a foundation in order to obtain a tax deduction, while another may do so to further help the cause of that foundation. Their actions are the same, while their intentions are quite different.

Let's assume that your goal is to change careers. Possible intentions for this goal could be to make more money, to feel less stress, to make more time for your family or to use more of your creative talents.

It is the conscious decision of your intention that will determine the experiences you have, the results you create and the people you attract into your life. When your intentions are aligned with your core values and principles, you will experience more joy, success, balance and fulfillment in pursuit of your goals!

Take some time to reflect on the outcomes you would like to create for this upcoming year and feel what your real intention is for each of them.

Setting your intent is about directing your focus in the present moment toward a future outcome. Because of the constantly changing environment of your life, setting your intent is an ever renewing process.

Set your intentions deliberately and carefully! To your success in 2009!

If you’re like most people, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about money or wealth:  how to create it, how to get more of it or how to prevent from losing it.  We seem to dedicate a great deal of time and energy to the pursuit of richness.Now more than ever seems to be the perfect time to explore the meaning of true wealth ...

The investment in yourself is the most important and lucrative investment you will ever make. When you concentrate on building a strong sense of identity, build upon self-acceptance, self-respect and self worth, your net worth will soar. You’ll be able to respond to the opportunities and challenges presented to you from a place of increasing presence, resourcefulness, courage and authenticity-even during these times of challenge and economic crisis.

On the other hand, when you let frustration, fear, anger, self-doubt run your life, you’ll disconnect from the inner resources you need and surrender to a place of hopelessness and/or helplessness. You’ll feel overwhelmed and powerless and you’ll become a victim of circumstances over which you have little or no control.

Having a high level of self-esteem is critical to your overall success, your sense of well being and personal fulfillment. The more you invest in yourself, the better you will understand your core values, your beliefs, your talents, your strengths, your weaknesses, hopes and aspirations. These are your true sources of capital. They help you determine where and when to invest more resources. Whether you are making decisions regarding your career, your work relationships, or your personal relationships, the higher your personal net worth, the clearer your choices will be.

High personal worth, or self-esteem, affords you more investment opportunities and makes you more conscious of where and when you want to spend your personal resources.  Awareness of your personal value ,and your values (think about the difference) allows you to get clear about the investments that are right for you.

"The quality of your relationships directly affects the quality of your life."

Other than investing in your relationship with your self, investing in relationships with others is a significant aspect of a fulfilled life. Personal relationships provide a great opportunity for personal growth, balance and fulfillment. They allow you to make a contribution and a difference in the lives of others. Great relationships, in turn, lead to a significant increase in your personal worth and that of others.

The rate of return you get on your relationship investments is directly related to the suitability of the investment.  Just as a wealth manager will ask you a series of questions to understand your investment profile, so should you take stock of your relationship investment portfolio:

• What is the portfolio’s current worth?
• What personal criteria do you use to determine the return on your investments? 
• In which relationships do you need to invest more of yourself?
• Are there any relationships from which you need to withdraw some of your personal funds?
• Are you paying any high 'emotional premiums' on investments that drain your personal energy?

In the currency of relationships, the most important investment you can make is the relationship you have with your self.  When your bank account is full of self-esteem, you have the capital necessary to make wise and solid investments in yourself and your relationships with others.  Building an investment portfolio rich in relationships will set the foundation for all other investments in your life.  This leads to personal satisfaction, happiness and success.

Your expectations define your reality. What you expect is what you get.  It’s simple, yet powerful and profound all at the same time.  The question is, "Do you expect the best possible outcome for yourself and others?" If you do expect that good things will happen, they usually do.  Not all of the time, but in general, when you expect to succeed, you will.  When you expect to win you're more likely to do so.  When you expect to live a happy and satisfying life, it happens. Conversely, when you expect to fail, be miserable, confused, conflicted or stressed …. you are. 

It’s not fate or karma at work here.  It is the basic fact that your attitude, your mental disposition, and general outlook attract similar behaviors and reactions in those around you.  Positive people are surrounded by positive influences. They have a support system of positive people who rally behind them when things don’t go as planned. Negative people only receive more negativity and doubt when they are faced with adversity or challenge. 

The expectations that you present to the world about yourself, and the people around you, will usually manifest. Just the way our expectations of others influence how we deal with them, they also influence how other people respond to us.

If you’ve ever worked with a person who is primarily negative you will know what I’m talking about.  A negative workplace is the least productive, least satisfying, and least motivating environment to be in.  Negativity is like a black hole that even the brightest light can’t escape from.  Once you get caught up in negativity, it is almost impossible to break free.  To avoid this trap you can work on developing positive expectations about yourself and others.

This does not mean you can choose any expectation and expect it to come true. Aside from having a positive and expecting attitude, your expectations must meet two other criteria before they can help you become the person you want to be.  They must be realistic and true to your self.

Unrealistic expectations are just as damaging as negative ones.  When you never achieve success you begin to doubt yourself.  All your positive energy is swiftly transformed to negativity.  This brings you right back to where you don’t want to be.

If your expectations are not true to the person you are or to person you want to become, you won’t commit to making them a reality.  All too often people try to live up to the expectations of others, such as a parent, a manager, a significant other, a teacher or another authority figure. Make sure your expectations are congruent with who you really are. That is the only way you will realize long term success, and the only way your expectations will continue to remain positive.

"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation."
(Charles F. Kettering)

• Commit yourself to setting positive and realistic expectations about all the things you truly want and deserve. Write an affirmation statement that asserts your expectation of a positive outcome.
   
• Make sure your affirmations are aligned with the beliefs you hold about yourself and others.
   
• Take the necessary action steps to make your self-affirmations a reality.
  
• Develop confidence and take responsibility for your own life.
  
• Remind yourself constantly that you get what you expect.
  
• Create a powerful visual message or anchor that you can refer to when you feel negativity creep in. 
  
• Work everyday at bringing to you the resources you need to make your expectations a reality.

You will find both power and happiness when you begin to set your own standards and expectations based on what is true for you. You are what you believe, and you become what you expect.  Expect the best, and only the best, from life, from others, and from yourself!

A river always moves forward, setting its course and creating its own path down to the sea. At this place beginning and end all come together.

The life of a river is expressed in its flow, just as your life is a continuous flow of experiences. A river's flow is powerful beyond measure. Even when it runs into obstacles, it finds a way past any resistance.

"One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself."
(Leonardo da Vinci)