3 secrets to having your best year ever at work

Perhaps your greatest desire is to beat the odds and somehow find a job to secure an income to pay your mounting bills, and meet the desperate needs of your children. Or maybe you feel bored, listless and unfulfilled in your current job and would do anything to find a more challenging and interesting position.

Whatever it is, you most likely have heartfelt desires you hope to fulfill this year. Many people's desires will remain mere wishes, however. Whatever happens in their lives and careers this year-again-will be left up to chance. This doesn't have to be your fate.

By applying the following three secrets of super achieving people, you can make 2012 your best year ever, at work and in your life.

1. Take 100% Responsibility

When my fiancée, Aldith, and I decided to get married, she asked me a question I've never forgotten. She asked, "Do you really think we are going to make it? Can we really make a success of married life?"

I replied, "Success in marriage or anything else doesn't just happen. That's something we determine by our decisions and actions. It's not something ordained by God or dependent upon circumstances."

Fifteen successful years of marriage later, we've proven the validity of this insight. It also happens to be true of achieving your best career results ever, in 2012.

If you decide to persist despite countless rejections of your job applications, repeated job interview failures, or embarrassing mistakes in your business, you will eventually succeed. If you give up in frustration, you'll fail.

If you apply the discipline to arrive at work on time and overcome distractions, you'll double or triple your productivity. Ultimately however, it's all up to you.

2. "Write it Down, Make it Happen"

That's the title of a great book by Henriette Ann Klauser, by the way. It's also one of the great secrets of extraordinary achievers. Writing down the goals you're committed to attain brings clarity to your desires. Written goals also provide the basis for evaluating your progress.

Emulate many top achievers. They actually write down their major goals everyday while vividly visualising themselves as if their goals were already achieved.

3. Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan

Having big goals for 2012 is fine. It's the disciplined daily implementation of a practicable plan that will result in goal achievement however. It's only by having monthly, weekly and daily targets for improving your focus incrementally, that you attain huge productivity improvements.

By following through on your plan to make five more sales call per day, you will attain your goal of making the extra half million dollars this year. By arranging automatic salary deductions with your credit union or bank, you'll reach your goal of saving one hundred thousand dollars this year.

You can make your highest income, enjoy your highest level of work satisfaction and achieve your greatest career goal ever, in 2012. Applying these powerful principles is a great place to start.

Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and success strategist. He is the author of a new book "From Problems to Power: How to Win Over Worry and Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities". glenfordsmith@yahoo.com