One of the biggest obstacles to success is the fear of success. Realizing that the fear of success exists is the first step to overcoming it. Constantly we see people who excel in almost every effort that they put forth. Sure makes you wonder why them and not me? The reason, put shortly, is that they are both focused and fearless.

The same way that not doing physical exercise will cause your body to get out of shape, not doing spiritual exercise will cause your spirit to get out of shape. It is easy to let the day to day concerns fill up your life and take away from the time you need to stay spiritually fit. Here are some things to do to help you to get back into spiritual shape.

1. Study the Word

GPS usually stands for "Global Positioning System." But it could stand for "Growth Plan for Success." You need a plan to reach any stage of success, and success usually is a result of personal growth. Here are a few things to consider for your plan.

Procrastination is something that everyone does, including you. So what is procrastinating, it's putting something off until later due to carelessness or laziness. Procrastination is putting off something till another day what you could just as easily do today. Lots of people put off something that only ends up getting done at the last minute or not at all.

Effective listening skills are important in every aspect of life to be able to get your message across. Both at work, at home and in social situations, the ability to listen well is as important as to be able to present well. This also equally applies in leadership, management or a team member position.

Everything successful starts with a plan and selling is no exception. It does not matter what you are selling. It can be insurance or real estate, advertising or cars. It all requires networking at the highest level or just simply communicating with people either face to face or via any of the modern systems you like. It does not really matter but communicate you must.

So, here we are. The holidays have come and vanished, along with your waist line (even though last year you *promised* yourself that you would never eat that much again - ever.) Ah, 2008 - you've planned for it to be a good year. You have lofty goals - your resolutions are really good this year! (Not like last year - this year is *different*).

Napoleon Hill, one of the first great self help gurus, thought that persistence was so important that he devoted a chapter to it in his landmark book "Think And Grow Rich." Chapter IX refers to persistence as "The sustained effort necessary to induce faith." He called persistence the eighth step toward riches.

The way to optimize your time so that you can achieve your goals is in the ability to do what is the most important action to take at a given time. Just getting up in the morning and doing what others have decided you should do will help achieve their goals and not yours. Even "to do lists" if not properly planned will not be all that helpful.

Is there anything more terrifying than facing an audience of strangers and knowing you have to deliver an entertaining and informative speech?