2005 has begun with an outpouring of global support for overwhelming tragedies endured by our fellow man.

It is also the beginning of another year of opportunity for personal growth, career growth, intellectual growth, and financial growth. In fact, taking opportunities and turning them to your advantage does not start with the beginning of any year, the opportunity is there every single day. All you have to do is decide to reach out, make a decision, and embark on the wonderful journey called life. Not to use the gift of life to the fullest when it can be so fleeting is such a waste.

Even though there seemed to be a scarcity of the usual New Year's Resolutions, I am seeing individuals who have decided that this is The Year to get their lives (and their finances in order).

What's the biggest decision of all? Where do you start?

Here are some suggestions on ways to categorise your dreams. After you take down those holiday decorations this weekend, make yourself a nice cup of java, tea, or whatever your persuasion, sit down with a couple of sheets of lined paper. Take a ruler and put a line right down the middle of the first sheet.

On the left side of the sheet, quickly and without thinking too much about it, write down all:

The things that you wish you were, i.e. more confident, more educated, slimmer, more athletic, more successful;

The things that you want to do, i.e. climb a mountain, travel round the world, get a promotion, build a nest egg, improve/change a relationship; and

The things that you have always wanted to have, i.e. a diamond ring, a home, a new car, whatever.

The key is to do it quickly, and list everything, no matter how outlandish they may seem. If there are dreams you have always had but you have never dared to articulate them, now is the time.

Then on the right side of the paper, put down next to each of these things, and do this quickly, too, whether having, being, owning these things will make you happy. Rank them in order of importance, 1 being the most important and 5 the least important.

What are your results? Are you surprised? Now, make a new list with only the number ones in the ranking on the list, again draw a line down the middle and on the right hand side, calculate the financial cost for each goal. You may be surprised at the cost; not all goals are dollar-driven. There are thousands of very successful people who truly believe that if you establish high standards and maintain your values, the money will follow.

This is the start of your personal mission statement for 2005. This is your vision; this are the positive changes you want to make in your life.

Make the statement a bit more cohesive. For example - in large print, write:

1. Taking two courses (or as many as you feel challenged to take) in education and investment-oriented subjects via the Internet and adult learning systems, i.e. start a formal education program.

2. I will avail myself of every employer in-house job training program offered, as well as focusing on projecting a can-do "I can accomplish anything" attitude every single day before I head off to work. I will become known as the team player who delivers projects successfully any time, every time.

3. I will watch for opportunities for promotion that meet my criteria for intellectual development and I will network consistently to achieve this goal of a promotion and an increased wage.

4. I will review every single thing I spend money on, then cut every allowance item by a minimum of ten percent. I will not use credit cards except for emergencies. To achieve this goal, I know I may not be as fashionable or as extensively travelled as I would wish, but I know that if I perform at the highest level of professionalism to meet these challenges in the future, I will reach a personal compensation level that will allow me to feel (and be) financially secure.

5. I will start a slow to moderate exercise programme that is cost and weight reduction effective (walking, biking). I will try not to YO-YO by gradually changing how I feel about myself.

5. My deadline to accomplish significant progress (and only I will measure that progress) toward these goals, a raise, a promotion, feeling better physically while mentally upgrading my skills, and building a savings account, is December 31, 2005.

Your mission statement may be quite different or less ambitious than this example. However, what matters is that:

You make one;

You write it down where you can see it every day;

You commit it to memory;

You make it contain specific and measurable outcomes that you alone can measure; and

You give yourself a deadline.

Can you do it? Yes, you can. If you don't choose to be proactive, you have made a choice - the decision to live with inactivity, feelings of poor self-esteem and daily frustration that life is not offering you what you want.

What you want to choose not to be is, as the old song goes, "another day older and deeper in debt".