"The one thing that separates winners from losers more than anything else is that winners take action . . . according to author Jack Canfield. Are you tired of making excuses to yourself and to others about why you're still in the same, old situation with your career and your life (or both) -- stuck? It's certainly not unheard of in these turbulent, complex times.

You have a choice: you can bite the bullet and take action, or you can continue to analyze and procrastinate. Each moment you spend anesthetized is time that you've allowed to be hijacked away from you, time you will never recover -- ever -- and that is profoundly sad to me.

The first step involves creating a vision of where you want to be. This is where coaching can speed up the process dramatically. Your vision lives in your heart and in your spirit; it's fashioned by your inner voice, and I can guide you to that place. This takes practice, is not always easy, but can be accomplished by anyone.

The next step is to create an action plan designed around your unique strengths. I have several tools that can accelerate this process. You'll begin to trust yourself to do what it takes to get yourself where you want to be. A crucial part of the process involves learning to acknowledge yourself. I also recommend a certain amount of risk taking, in order to help get into action. Even if you initially head in a wrong direction, you are better off than if you hadn't moved at all.

People will start to take you and your intention more seriously, and some will offer helpful resources and suggestions to guide you. The feedback, although sometimes hard to hear will help you perfect your direction. You will move again and again, and receive more and more feedback. This motion of correction, action, feedback, more corrections, etc., brings you closer to following the path to your vision.

The next step is to learn to act as if you already have attained your vision, to make your decisions based on the person you want to become. This stimulates reticular activity in your brain, which works to solve the tension between your vision and your reality -- very cool stuff that really works! Create a Gratitude List every day, using at least 5 items. It's okay if you get carried away and do more (a lot of people do); this helps to produce positive biochemical activity that carries you through the day in a place of possibility and abundance.