During the past 16 years I have asked thousands of my delegates “What do you really want? What are your goals and dreams?” Their initial answers include a variety of “things” such as money, possessions, love, recognition, respect, success, health, wealth, happiness, travel, fame & fortune etc. Then I push a bit harder and ask: “What is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you want, when all is said and done? What would you actually place right at the top of the list?” Without fail, the majority inevitably vote for Happiness. Every time! (They sometimes also refer to it as inner peace, peace of mind, contentment, joy or fulfilment.)

Greetings Fellow Entrepreneurs, Sales Professionals and Managers!

Is it just me or did this year simply fly by, like an illegal taxi at a roadblock?

And what an exceptional year it has been. We have been blissfully busy working with two types of organisations: Those fighting the Price Wars and those who are winning the Strategic Battles.

Those fighting the price war are despondent, depressed, distraught and demotivated. They are GATVOL of the China Factor, Commoditisation, Globalisation, Financial Turmoil, Uncertainty, Indecisiveness, Aggressive Competitors and Endless Economic woes. (Ja dit is WOES!) They are tired of battling in the trenches, cutting prices to the bone, losing margin, juggling cashflow, getting their butts whipped by the opposition and not getting their damn credit applications approved. They call us in to equip their tired troops with new sales weapons and ammunition to go out and win the war.

As the solstice of December 2012 rushes relentlessly towards us, major shift is happening on our planet. Fear and uncertainty is increasing and I have been noticing distinct energetic differences in the people I am working with. Their outlook and attitudes are vastly different. Their levels of growth are remarkably disparate.

How successful are you right now? Where do you place yourself on a scale from 1 to 10? And wherever you put yourself, are you happy with your score? If not, what would you need to do in order to really succeed?

I believe that the Western (read: American) version of success is all messed up, outdated and tired, in serious need of a revamp. It’s all about fame and fortune and power and money, no matter what the personal cost. It’s about striving towards some future goal in the hope of someday finding inner peace and happiness. It’s about comparisons to others and keeping up with the Joneses and showing the world how well we are doing. All too often success has a price and the price is our well being.