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Here we are at the beginning of the New Year. I was just reflecting on the past year, thinking of all of the good things that were accomplished, and now, as I prepare for 2017, I’m thinking of all the ways I can make it the best it can be by taking full advantage of the moment created by a year finished strong. Some of the keys to building a successful business are effective time management, self-discipline and working a goal-oriented and effective game plan. Add to that self-confidence and excitement about what you do and you are on your way!

When you boil it down, quite often winning comes down to your self-confidence.

I don’t mean being confident in an arrogant way; I’m talking about being confident in your ability to do the right thing for your clients. Confident that you know you have the ability and can accomplish the task at hand. You have high expectations for yourself, and you are determined to win for you and your client. One thing I’ve discovered about winners, they are as demanding upon themselves as anyone could be. They want to be held to a higher standard. They want to be held accountable. They have huge expectations for themselves and all of those around them. To win, you must have high expectations for yourself. It’s not enough that others want it for you, that is important, but it’s really up to you. When you have a positive attitude and have high expectations for yourself, you’re on the path to success. It doesn’t mean everything you do is going to be successful; it means you are going to keep on working no matter what. You won’t quit until you succeed. Winning isn’t easy; in fact, quitting is the easiest thing to do. It takes very little effort to quit.

So if self-confidence is so important, how do you develop the self-confidence you need for success? It takes two things, discipline, and action. Success and failure are both self-ability concepts. If you expect to win, you will win. If you expect to fail, you will fail. It really is that simple.

Now, believing you’re going to win doesn’t make it automatic it means you are willing to put forth the effort it takes to win. It puts the odds in your favor. If you start with a defeatist attitude, it makes every obstacle difficult, if not impossible, to overcome.

Sometimes you will see a winner start losing. How does that happen? It’s usually due to a lack of discipline and a lack of focus. The difference between winners and losers is once a winner realizes what’s happening, they’ll get themselves back on track. They won’t accept failure for long. They learn from their mistakes and try not to repeat them. The loser says, “This is not for me” and gives up.

My hope for you is that 2017 will be your best year yet. Stay focused, follow your plan, and be confident that you will do one hundred percent right one hundred percent of the time for you and your clients and success will soon be yours.

Jay Thompson is a Business Consultant with the CSU Bakersfield Small Business Development Center. The CSUB SBDC provides premium, one on one, no cost consulting to small business owners in Kern, Inyo and Mono Counties. For more information visit their website at http://www.csub.edu/sbdc.