Inspiration can be found in so many different places each and every day if we choose to look for it! A beautiful sunrise. A child's honesty and simple wisdom. A great work of art. A cherry blossom on a Spring day. Fabulous music and wonderful books. Sporting success! Take a break from your daily routine, open your eyes and look around you. Yes, 'stop and smell the roses'! Whatever your interest or passion, you can find, enjoy and grow with inspiration from others, from nature, from the ordinary and extraordinary things found all around you. Borrow that inspiration to fulfill your own dreams!

Sounds like I have my head in the clouds? My head is often in the clouds. It helps me to dream big dreams and open my mind to all the wonderful possibilities. That said, my feet are firmly planted on the ground, enabling me to be practical and disciplined about defining my dreams and devising workable plans to make them a reality. You too can bring your dreams down to earth AND keep them light and fun without making them feel like work. It's easier to enjoy the journey if you take it one small step at a time. With patience, perseverance, persistence, passion, and a plan you can avoid being overwhelmed and pressured because your expectations are unrealistic, or you don't know how to proceed. Give yourself time to grow into your dream. Learn as you go.

If you want to get fit, it's not going to happen overnight, that's unrealistic. Instead, spend 20-30-minutes each day practicing your favorite forms of exercise: walking, swimming, gardening, biking, playing golf, whatever makes you happy and makes you feel good. If you're out of shape, of course those initial, early steps will be tough. Prepare for the inevitable bumps and roadblocks. You have to learn to walk before you can run. Give yourself time. Be patient!

Each week commit to doing your homework. If daily exercise is your goal, you have to rest some days. On those days research your fitness goals. Reading and research will enable you to create a realistic plan, set accurate milestones, assess progress, and make course corrections. Savor progress and reward yourself when things are going well. On a bad day, don't beat yourself up. Think about the reasons things are going badly. Change what you can and accept what you can't change. It will get better, there's always a new day, another opportunity to do better.

I often use daily exercise/getting fit as an example of a good New Year resolution, goal, or dream because it's my lifetime goal, and so many others also resolve to exercise. Five simple common-sense concepts apply to most resolutions:

1. Dare to Dream - Open your mind, consider the possibility that you can get fit, you can lose weight, you can travel, you can earn a degree, you can run a marathon, you can spend more quality time with your kid each and every day. Yes, you can achieve your resolution, if you make that choice and promise to follow through. Visualize what you want to achieve. Think through when, how, and why you want to achieve that dream, then 'go for it' for all you're worth. There is no half way. You have to go all the way!

2. Decide - Without fire in the belly you aren't going to go very far. You must choose a resolution that inspires you. Something that you want to do each and every day. Something that you passionately want to do before your life is over. Something that is important to you: exercise, diet, photography, singing, writing, learning, traveling, studying - the options are infinite. Desire is key: You have to 'want to succeed' more than anything else; then you have to make that desire a reality. You have to RESOLVE - decide firmly with great determination to achieve!

3. Define - Don't be vague and wimpy. Be brief and bold. Make yourself a Promise! I will exercise each day for 30-minutes by walking, gardening, biking, swimming, stretching, doing Yoga, working out with weights, and playing tennis. Be concise and to the point and you will move toward your destination like a train chugging purposefully down the tracks.

4. Develop A Plan: Do your homework. Read. Research. Talk with experts. Find a mentor. Find a buddy who shares your vision. Join a club or an online community that supports your goal. Show up every day, post, ask questions, and learn! Determine what it will it take to achieve your goal. What are the steps? What are the obstacles to your progress? Once you understand 'what' you need to do, you can plot a course on paper in your 'Daily Resolution Diary' - the 'how and when'. You can break the steps into manageable daily and weekly tasks and apply deadlines. If you're focused, but flexible you can make course corrections when you're veering off track. When your goal is overtaken by events, you'll take it in stride. You'll keep moving forward with purpose despite roadblocks. You will chart your milestones, savor wonderful victories and reward yourself, knowing one success leads to another, like climbing stairs to the stars!

5. Do It Daily: Keep your dream, your resolution, your goal front and center. Make it a centerpiece of your life. Each day, enjoy what you are doing even if it's tough. You will break through and it will get easier! Keep your eye on your destination, the wonderful prize that awaits you when you keep your resolution, but enjoy the journey each and every step of the way! Stay focused with your 'Daily Resolution Diary'. Even if you just jot a couple paragraphs, and mark your wall calendar every day, or every couple days, those notes will help you track and assess your progress. Know that you have the 'gift of time' to fulfill your dream one resolution, one day at a time for one year.

I try to open my eyes and accept inspiration when it comes my way. Usually it's sitting right in front of me. Give it a try. Open yourself to the inspiration all around you. With that, I leave you with the gift of Martin Luther King Jr.'s inspirational words:

"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well." You can live your dreams, goals and resolutions, large and small. Be Persistent and Confident! Have Patience, Perseverance and Passion! Believe in yourself and your dream! Make a promise to yourself today: I Will Achieve My New Year Resolutions, One Resolution, One Day At A Time For One Year! Then 'go for it'!