As a new year begins or a major birthday approaches, people start thinking about their lives. They sometimes are disappointed by where they are and want to be somewhere else. The things they want are not easy to get - if they were, they would already have them. So how does one set about changing one's life?

The process for change starts first with positioning yourself to find the need and desire to make a change. It's like what you hear about addictions, you first must recognize you have a problem before you can start doing anything about it.

But first I want to tell you something else: 2009 is going to be the best year ever for me and all people surrounding who will be open enough to listen. Why, how? Because I know it. Because I can see it and feel it. Because it is my clearest, surest and most definite intention. First you have to claim it. Meaning there's no way that this coming year you will let anything get in your way of success.

To find the right life for you, you have to know what is most important to you at your very core. What is most important to me is freedom. It's taken me a long time to really understand that, and it may take you a while to get to your core values, but the only way you can be happy is by living your life according to YOUR values - no one else's.

Of coarse we all need to make changes for the better in our lives. New years is a good date to make that happen. We fail when we decide that we will somehow make these changes over night. You actually have to really mean it before new years even start.

What do I mean? True desire - you have to really, truly want it. It starts here. It's not going to be easy, but don't lie to yourself. If deep down you really would rather have that new pair of shoes than pay off that credit card - I can't help you. You've got to get this straight in your own head. You have to decide what you really want and go for it. When athletes take the field they want to win. Period. You have to have that level of clarity and desire.

You don't hear much about discipline anymore and that's a shame. Discipline is what you're going to need. The discipline to get out of bed when you don't feel like it and go to the gym. The discipline to not buy those shoes and put that money in the bank. The discipline to go to night school when your friends are out partying. Every successful person in the history of the world could practice discipline. Discipline is doing what might suck in the short term to get you where you want to go in the long term. No discipline equals no success. There is no easy way out.

These are the values that we sometimes look over that we need in our lives the most. Don't get discouraged - what I find is that the more you practice discipline - the easier it gets. You become stronger. Your self-esteem rises. You realize that you can get out there and do anything - you just have to push yourself.

At some point in your life, you have witnessed in yourself and perhaps others, attempts at making changes to their life which simply didn't "take". Anything you want to do from losing weight or quit smoking its up to you. Whatever the example, we have all had an opportunity to experience what seemed like good attempts but for some reason, the good attempt failed. It can leave one to wonder if, at some point, we become too solidified in various behaviors to really change. Let me set this stage by first saying: yes, we can and do make real changes all the time. I need to add that there is a bit of a process to it, but it's not rocket science so it's all available for us to do.

New years equals new things for everyone. It should not take for us to wait until the new year to change but its better now then never. Remember first you have to claim it. This new year will be great for me. Then have discipline. The you need to execute as planned.