When I started my first small business in 1979, I hired my first business coach, John Bullaro. John taught me so much about business, including the power of writing affirmations. Thank you, John!

Here is what John taught me about affirmations:

1. Write a description of all aspects of your life as you would optimally want them to be and in the present – (examples: I wake up every morning looking forward to the exciting challenges of my work; I am living in a house filled with sunshine and beautiful views;

2. Read them every night before you go to sleep and every morning you wake up;

3. Think carefully about what you write, since, John said, every affirmation he wrote happened.

4. And my addition to the list: Before you write your affirmations, ask yourself what you want your life to look like when you are 85, looking back at the choices you made, the life you lived. This question is central to transformation and creating the legacy that is important to you.

Since then, writing affirmations has become my annual New Year’s tradition. I use this opportunity to stretch my creativity, think without boundaries, knowing that everything in life starts with energy, a thought, an idea.

I like to use this time to challenge myself that the choices I am making sync with my true values and reflect my passion and commitment to making a positive difference in this world.

It is so easy for many of us to get lost and caught up in drama and minutia – things that end up making no difference when you think about what you really want to accomplish – and years can fly by without doing what we are committed to and using the gifts we inherited.

The New Year is a wonderful time to celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues and making a commitment to relationship building.

I encourage you to get more involved with WITI, to share your knowledge and resources so together we can shape a legacy for the next generation we can all be proud of!

Please share with us your perspective so we can all enrich each other with our ideas, experience and knowledge.

Happy New Year!