My friend and sales manager at Nationwide Insurance sends me daily motivational quotes and here is one he sent this morning that I think is very timely for all of us in business.

To Your Sucess!

1. Are you excited?
2. Do you know exactly what you want?
3. Do you know why you want what you want?
4. Do you have a plan?
5. Have you identified your target marketing?
6. Are you clear about what your target market needs and how you will fill that need?
7. Have you laid out your marketing strategy?
8. How are you going to keep your intentions visible at all times?
9. How are you going to keep your priorities and actions in alignment so you have the greatest chance of creating the results you want in the upcoming year?
10. What you are going to do to stay emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy this year?

Remember, real success in life is not what you achieve. Real success in life is measured by the quality of your experience as you work to make your goals a reality.

Woody Allen once said that 90% of life was showing up. That may be true. However, the 10% of life is how you show up. And how you show up can make all the difference in the world.

As you begin 2011, please keep the following in mind:

1. Stay focused on the present moment. This is the only place you can ever actually get anything done.

2. Always come from a place of service. Can I help? is the most fundamental question you can ask in your business each and every day. Make service your goal in every interaction. Service is value. People respond to value given with value returned.

3. Pay attention to what is happening. Everything in life starts with awareness. Realize that you are not in control of what happens to you, only your response to what happens. Learn to open your mind to the intentions, expectations, motivations, actions, non-actions, results, challenges, opportunities, and possibilities that will be present in each situation you encounter in the next 12 months.

4. Always tell the truth. Telling the truth is the most efficient way of managing both your business and your life. There is rarely a “truly” negative consequence to telling the truth. The truth will always be your ally if you stay committed to seeing and accepting it.

5. Study everything about your business. Know your market, your associates, your competitors, your affiliates, your clients, yourself. Know how to spot a good prospect and how to stay away from a bad one. Know how to work with people who want to work with you. Know how to find opportunity—it is present in every situation. Know how to ask for the business.

6. Always follow a plan. Planning isn’t convenient, stress is. Having a sound plan puts your business to work for your versus you working for it. A well-written business plan is the only real link between your creative process and the actions that will cause you to reach your goals. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

7. Be consistent. Pick a core marketing strategy and stick with it. Keep improving it. And keep doing it over and over again. Most great things are only accomplished through sustained and continuous effort. Remember, F.O.C.U.S. stands for Follow One Course Until Successful.

8. Systematize your actions. Systems bring structure and organization to everything you do. Systems eliminate discretion and randomness from your business. In many ways, the efficiency of your systems will dictate the volume of business you do.

9. Be personally accountable for your actions. Invite candid feedback. Never hide from the truth. Take ownership of your circumstances and results. Recognize when you are playing the role of the victim. Take responsibility for your ability to make things happen.

10. Stay open and flexible. The one constant in life is change. You need to accept the fact that your rapidly changing world requires that you constantly adapt. You cannot control change, yet you can influence how change effects your life. Instead of being stressed out by change, turn its power to your advantage.

11. Strive for a personal sense of balance. Professional balance is the result of personal balance. Balance is what makes the experience of living more evident, easy, and enjoyable. Eat right. Exercise. Get more rest. Meditate. Play. Have fun. Recharge. Take more time off. Simplify. Count your blessings. Smile. Be positive.

12. Take a long-term perspective on everything you do. Be patient with your efforts. Patience is having the faith and the confidence to act over the long term, beginning now, and progressively continuing day after day until the goal is reached. Having a longer term outlook is what will provide you with the most effective and satisfying results.

Making 2011 Your Best Year

Great success in life is not so much about what you accomplish as it is about the experience of your accomplishment.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to building a successful business. However, there is enormous gratification in showing up each and every day with a healthy sense of pride, commitment, and respect for the work you do.

Start the new year with a clear sense of what you are wanting to accomplish. Know it is absolutely within your power to make your goals a reality. Stay focused on what is in front of you.

Keep the 12 points above in mind at all times and 2011 will be a year like no other! Make a commitment to these 12 points and hold yourself accountable.