There is never a bad time to revisit your goals, but perhaps now more than ever is a good time. We have been bumping along the bottom, for so long now, battered and bruised by what the global economic situation keeps throwing at us, that no doubt for many, the goals and dreams that you once had have gradually dissipated, and it has now become a day to day battle to keep your head above water.

However rather than just throw in the towel and keep on taking all the bad stuff on the chin, why not sit back for a day, and remember the goals you had when you first started out, so you can re-enthuse yourself, and re-establish the drive and the fun in your business. Remembering the reasons why you started out in your business can help you to re-focus on the long term and then work back, rather than struggling with the short team and projecting forward.

If you start with the long term goals again, (and some of them may well have changed over the last 3 or 4 years) then you can work back to clarify exactly what you need to do this year to get you on the path to those ends. Then by breaking this year’s goals into monthly segments, little by little you start to re-set the targets you need to achieve to make the first steps to your long term goals.

Then you need to set your marketing strategy to hit your ideal customers, so you ensure you reach your short term goals, and start to re-kindle the good feelings you once had about your business.

So whatever stage you are at, be it early days, well established or even an old business, take the time to remember why you are doing this, and you will start to take control once again.

There has been a lot of interesting coverage in the press recently about overseas aid, and perhaps nearer to home benefits for those who need income support to help keep them and their families fed and housed. Of course there are many needy cases, and I think most people agree that it is right to help where necessary. However, there is a potent counter-argument which says if you constantly give things away, so there is no longer a hunger, drive or even need to do anything for yourself, then you are not actually helping the fundamental issues.

Although you might intuitively think giving money to poorer countries (or people) must be a good thing, in fact it seems that the countries which receive the most aid do little to nothing to develop and better their country. In fact they just sit back and wait for the freebies. The same thing applies to some degree with the benefits handouts in the U.K. The more they get and the easier it is to receive help, the less people feel they need to do for themselves.

To take this theory into a business environment, once again the same thing applies. If as a business owner, or manager, you are too quick to cover for your employees, or even do it for them, you simply create a culture of laziness and /or dependency, they no longer seek to find out how to do things better, or how to learn from their mistakes, they simply carry on going through the motions, getting things wrong, hurting the business, but knowing that their lessons will pick up the pieces.

So next time you are tempted to do something which your employees should be doing, think again. You are not really doing them a favour, as you are stopping their self development, and restricting their ability to grow. Allow them to make mistakes, but teach them and encourage them how to take responsibility for themselves, and watch them flourish.

Complacency is a very dangerous thing. It can often lead to, or perhaps be caused by, false assumptions, which in turn can lead to under-estimating a situation, and then being unprepared to deal with it.

We often see it on the sports field, and England could probably be accused of complacency both on the cricket and rugby pitches over the recent weekend. The thing is, it is not really a conscious decision, so it is very hard to guard against. Both these teams would swear blind that they were not complacent, and that they were fully prepared, but in the back of their minds they had allowed themselves to create a false sense of security.

As always we can apply the same mentality to business. Ignoring the little worrying signs, not preparing properly for a sales pitch, or even a presentation will invariably lead to a poor performance, a drop in standards and quality, and potential loss of business. In fact I can clearly remember a specific presentation where I hadn’t thought it particularly important, I had played down the fear factor, and consequently spoke poorly.

If you believe your business to be one which is high in quality and service you can never allow your standards to drop. And of course this must be true of every aspect of what you do, because one slip can cause doubt in your customer or prospects mind. So don’t be complacent. Don’t tell yourself that “x” or “y” didn’t really matter, and let yourself off the hook. Always be on your guard, and let fear of failure help to drive you forward. Because if you don’t have that edge, you could lose when you should be winning.

What a beautiful day it was yesterday, and I’m prepared to bet that a lot of good business was concluded as a result. I often talk about the positive things in life creating more positives, and I have no doubt because people were feeling good that the extra spring in their step helped to encourage sales, and also made others more open to buying.

Of course it is ridiculous that something as superficial as a sunny day should have this effect, but everyone I met was in a good mood. So wouldn’t it be great if we could create this more often, and I see no reason why not, after all it is only a state of mind.

Conversely I met someone who was telling me how stress was the root of all evil, illness, tiredness, mistakes and a lot of negativity generally. Stress can be caused by all sorts of things, but once again, it is largely a state of mind, which we either allow to take hold, or we reject.

The point is, whichever way we choose to be, it is our choice. No-one tells us to be in a good or bad frame of mind, and although circumstances and our surroundings are bound to affect us to some degree, ultimately we are the ones who make the decision as to how we react, how we will feel, and then how we project this.

I hope and believe that most people see me as a happy smiling person. I have a hugely positive attitude to life, and as a result on the whole I am a “lucky” man. However, there is nothing to stop anyone being that way, after all remember what it felt like yesterday, remember all the good things that happened as a result, put it in a bottle, and reproduce that same positive outlook wherever you need to.