Isn't it amazing every January the number of ads you see on TV, on the web, and in newspapers about weight loss, meal programs, exercise equipment, diet pills, health club memberships, diet books, etc.?  Of course, these companies are trying to capitalize on most people's New Year's Resolutions...the most common one being weight loss.  Sadly, without a proven coaching system to modify one's habits and to provide on-going accountability to keep them on track, very few resolutions ever come true...in spite of the gym memberships, shakes and pills, exercise gadgets and gimmicks, and diet sodas and foods.  Sadly, so many people fall for the quick and easy fix.

We should know better.  For example, each of us already knows how to lose weight.  It's not complicated...exercise more and eat less, eat better.  You must simply burn more calories than you consume.  Period.  While this is all quite simple, it's not easy to achieve.  Why?  Real success, whether weight loss or a better performing business, requires a change in thinking and behavior.  Bottom line, success at anything requires better habits.  That's right, your success and happiness will depend on the quality and effectiveness of your habits more than anything else.  Got good habits?

What is a habit?  It's simply an automatic pattern of behavior.  A conditioned way of doing something.  A fixed routine of thinking and behaving.  A habit is something you do on an automatic, subconscious operating level with little if any thought.  We each have hundreds of good, bad and neutral habits and routines in our personal and professional lives...for example, the time we go to bed and get up, how we get dressed and brush our teeth, what we drink and eat in the morning, food choices throughout the day, whether or not we work out, if we smoke and drink alcohol, how we drive to work, how long we work, how we use e-mail, how we set and tackle priorities, how we manage time, how we focus, how we set and achieve goals, how we lead and delegate, how we think and plan, etc.  We do these tasks without ever really thinking about how we do them.  We truly are creatures of habit. 

Here is a business coaching secret.  First you create your habits, then your habits create your life and business.  As a business coach for many years, if you let me observe or you honestly tell me your daily habits, I can pretty much predict your future and level of success.  That's how important habits are.  As a business owner, your success will largely depend on your conditioned patterns of thinking and acting.  Habits are who you are and what you do on a daily basis.  Put simply, habits are the great differentiator between successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs, happy and unhappy entrepreneurs.  Again, got good habits?

Successful and happy owners have discovered and adopted the right habits to produce success and happiness...they have also learned to discard those habits that do NOT support their success, health, wealth, and happiness.  Have you ever objectively evaluated your own habits?  If you want new results, you must adopt new and better mindsets and habits.  And yes, you can discover and adopt new and productive habits anytime in your life with the right on-going business coaching process.  However, it is nearly impossible to permanently adopt new habits on your own without some assistance.  Without a proven system (whether weight-loss or business coaching) and on-going coaching and accountability, it is very difficult to face reality, discover which habits are holding you back, and to permanently adopt more effective habits. 

Take weight lose for example.  You must change your lifestyle and the very way you think and act.  Being over-weight is not the real problem.  It's merely a symptom.  The real problem is over-eating, under-exercising, and/or failing to confront the real emotional issues "eating at you" and causing you to abuse food.  Without first changing on the inside, you will not be able to change on the outside.  In short, to lose weight, you must change your lifestyle habits.  You must adopt healthy eating, drinking, exercise, emotional management, and sleeping habits.  To learn new and healthy habits in a systematic manner, you have to expand your knowledge and mindsets.  To help, find a weight-loss program that will provide you with an effective system of education, healthy habits, support, and on-going accountability.

Business success is no different.  As an owner, to get better results, you need to change the way you think and act...you need new knowledge, mindsets, and habits.  You also need a proven business-owner development and education system with on-going accountability to help you firmly adopt better habits.  That is what The Growth Coach business coaching process is all about!

Instead of wasting time with mere wishes (New Year's Resolutions) this year, focus on honestly assessing and then upgrading your habits.  For greater health, wealth, happiness and success in 2009, make a habit of examining your habits.

Daniel M. Murphy
The Growth Coach
President, Founder & Business Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System