Wow!!! Isn’t it amazing how fast these years go by? I honestly believe that this past year was the fastest year that I can ever remember. As this year winds down I must warn you of one common mistake most people make this time of year. There seems to be an expectation for professionals to coast through the holiday season and then plan to ramp it up again in the New Year. I always tell my children your input will dictate your outcome and always Finish Strong!!!!

How you finish this year professionally will influence how prosperous your 2008 will be. With that said doesn’t it just make simple sense to finish strong? Doesn’t it make sense to give this final month your biggest push in order to maximize the year and to give yourself some momentum for 2008?

This past summer, while attending my children’s track meets, I witnessed several come from behind victories that created an emotional dilemma for me. I felt so bad for some of the kids because they would look so defeated when victory was snatched from their grasp within the last few inches of the finish line. However, it was always very impressive when I saw the will of these victorious competitors digging deep into their emotional and physical reservoir and pouring it on at the end.

It was pretty common to see all of the athletes optimistically burst out of the starting blocks with great form and technique running side by side only to see fatigue, lack of talent or technique cost them the victory.

If you were to compare yourself to a sprinter, what kind of professional race are you running? Do you start fast and struggle down the stretch? Do you start slow and finish strong? The professionals (professionally and athletically) that impress me the most always tend to start fast and finish even stronger. Their excellence makes a statement to the competition that is heard loud and clear. “I am the champ and don’t you even think about it!”

Carry this mentally into the New Year…Finish Strong!!!!!!!