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Guest post by: Douglas Long Become an Author

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Its mid summer in Australia - not that you'd know it. In Sydney the weather should be hot and humid.

I'm looking out my home office window and there's my garden in all its glory - not! We have just had one of the wettest years ever and December was close to the coldest on record. And this has mucked up my garden!

Last winter I carefully prepared the soil and ensured plenty of nutrients were present. In late winter and spring I planted a wide variety of vegetables and seeds then carefully watered and fed them, but, apart from some lettuce and spinach, nothing's gone as planned. Sydney's weather has meant that things I couldn't control have had a huge negative impact.

For me, there are parallels with my 2011 experience.

This time last year everything seemed rosy. I reviewed 2010's results, revised my annual plans and was totally convinced that 2011 would be one of my best years ever. It wasn't! Circumstances beyond my control meant that, while certainly not (or even near) a disaster, 2011 could not really be described as "the best thing since sliced bread"!

How will my current gardening results affect me in 2012? Well, I'll harvest and use what I can then, in winter, I'll again prepare the soil for next year and start all over again. I know that there are always things like the weather that I can't control. But I also know that the only way I will have totally fresh vegetables is to grow my own and so I will continue in the knowledge that some years are always better than others. And I'll continue talking to the people at my local gardening centre and listening to expert advice as to what I can and should do differently.

I guess I'm a bit like Chauncey Gardener in "Being There". I understand and accept nature's cycles.

Chauncey, of course, was naive and his simplicity was manipulated and abused. But, we all know (even if sometimes we don't want to accept and face it) that there are powers greater than our own that impact on everything. All of us who teach and facilitate business planning at any level are at pains to point out the need to build in contingency aspects and to constantly review actual against plan so that remedial action can be taken.

The truth is that the only things we can really control are our attitudes towards the future and our response to what actually happens. Customers may or may not buy. Commodity prices may or may not rise or fall. Exchange rates may or may not remain stable. World economic woes may or may not continue (although personally I believe they are more likely to continue). Clients may or may not pay on time. Et cetera! We can plan. We can work to our plan. We can do everything right - and still the desired results might not eventuate. That's the reality.

As you move forward into the unknown - into 2012 - what's your attitude? Are you allowing any negatives from 2011 to dominate? Is there an anxiety because of the realisation that desired results depend as much on what others do as on what you do? There are things that you can do within your own mind to change that (you can move into the blue zone of courage rather than remain in the red zone of fear) and there are also plenty of people available to provide coaching, mentoring, and wisdom to help you on your journey.

Sometimes we're a bit reluctant to admit we need help - heck, even if we've got the best possible medical insurance, lots of us even avoid going to the Doctor or Dentist until we're forced to! The truth is that the bigger the business the more they have in-house experts or they can afford to buy the best advice possible: the smaller the business the greater the cost (as a percentage of revenue) of help. The result can be an increasing feeling of "aloneness" and that can develop into a loss of confidence, an unhelpful concentration on what is going wrong, and the growth of a self fulfilling prophesy of failure.

It doesn't have to be that way. You have it within yourself to make this year the best you have ever had.

Move boldly forward into the future. Your 2011 experience (whether positive or negative) is paralleled by that of countless others. You can make 2012 your best year ever - and if you need help, there are many sources from which you can get it. Talk with your friends and colleagues. Seek out support services that are prepared to help you - there are many who will tailor their fees to meet what you can afford and will tie their fees in with your cash flow budget. Pay attention to your mindset. Remember that there is always the opportunity for growth and development in how you think and in where you locate your brain's area of control. At least 60% of your success is to be found in your attitude and beliefs.

You Can Do It! Go boldly where no person has even been before!

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