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Consider the following suggestions to create a happier, more fulfilling and more profitable life:

1. Properly Define Success

Trap: Letting other people define success for you. Bosses, co-workers, spouses, friends, parents, ministers, teachers, advertising executives and a plethora of other �counselors� are willing and eager to tell you what you should do with your life. But goals don't matter unless they matter to you. Define your own path in life!

2. From There to Here

Trap: From Here to There -- Human nature has apparently hard-wired most of us to focus on going from �here to there.� It starts when we�re children -- �Mom, Dad, are we there yet?� By definition, �there� is always somewhere or somewhen else. You can only be truly happy right now. Train yourself to mentally travel from the future to now, and have fun doing things in the present that will create an even better future.

3. Use Your Internal Guides

Internal guides go by many names: joy, happiness, contentment, anger, sorrow, anxiety or euphoria. They serve as excellent guides to tell you whether you are on the right path. You are guided by your emotions, and they all fit into one of two categories: positive feelings and negative feelings. These feelings tell you the truth when outside influences try to fool you. Pay attention to your internal emotions. Let them help you find your best life path.

4. Plan Simply and Plan Effectively

Don�t allow your plan to complicate your project or your life. Just make sure you include three critical steps. (1) Be clear about the results you desire. (2) Be honest about your current situation. (3) Be diligent about developing and implementing specific action steps to propel you to success. Make a fluid commitment to your plan. Commit to seriously carry out your plan, but remain willing to adjust if circumstances change.

5. Evaluate Your Beliefs

Your mind is chocked full of valid beliefs, invalid beliefs and everything in between. If you think that everything you believe is the �way it is� in the world, you are in for a surprise as you continue to learn and grow. Archie Bunker believed he was right all the time. Others with low self-esteem believe they are wrong all of the time. Take inventory of your beliefs and determine which are serving you and which are holding you back. Let some beliefs go ... and let some beliefs grow.

6. Clutter

Clutter is the root cause of many frustrations. Think of what your life would be like if you knew how to find everything when you need it. If you decide it is easier to just �go buy another one� than find the one you know you have somewhere, consider cleaning up and organizing the stuff in your life. What problems would go away for you if you didn�t have to deal with your clutter or other people�s clutter? Start big or start small, but start cleaning up today.

7. Become a �Space = Person�

Superman had his fortress of solitude. Batman had his bat cave. If these extraordinary people, with extraordinary powers needed a place to reflect and get away from it all, why wouldn�t you benefit from a special place called �your space?� It may be a room, a chair, a spot under a tree, an old washing machine box or any space. Stake a claim on your space today and become a genuine �space=person� for a few minutes each day. Create your own personal fortress of solitude.

8. People-Teachers

The people who come and go in your life often function like catalysts. When introduced into your environment, they may cause �reactions� that result in positive or negative change for you. If you assume that everyone comes into your life for a reason, it becomes an interesting challenge to discover why each person is there, and what you should be learning from him or her. Pay attention to each of these valuable teachers.

9. The Next Best Step

Don�t get ahead of yourself. Put your heart into your next project and make a fluid commitment to a plan. But then take things one step at a time. Be prepared to adapt to change, because it will come. Stop between steps to make any necessary adjustment to compensate for changes in circumstances. Then get on with the next best step. By focusing on what�s just ahead, you will avoid feeling overwhelmed and being too rigid in your thinking.

10. Time Passage Event Management

The 86,400 seconds you are given each day pass by regardless of what you are doing. You can�t stop time, you can�t save time, and you can�t manage time. You can, however, manage events. Think of your day in terms of the events that you must focus on in order to call the day successful. Pause briefly between each event and think about your intent for the next event. That�s all you really need to manage ... the event and your intent.

11. The Snowball Effect

Negative feelings and thoughts are like snowflakes. They are easy to deal with when they first begin to fall, but if you ignore them they can become an avalanche. A healthy mental response can melt negative snowflakes before they become a mind-and-life altering avalanche. Remember, it�s not what happens to you, it�s how you respond to it that matters. Handle the snowflakes yourself or ask for help. This is one case where you do not want to �have a ball.�

12. The Puzzle Called Life

Life is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, except you can�t �take a piece back.� What�s done is done. For example, you can�t un-insult someone. Unlike a regular puzzle, the outcome of your life-puzzle changes with each piece you play. Forget the pieces you played in the past and focus on the pieces in your hand. They are the only ones that have the potential to make a difference in your life-puzzle.

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(source Google.com, April 2002.)

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