This is the time of year when many people will be making New Year’s resolutions about everything from dieting and exercising to working less and reading more. The reason the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions don’t stick is that people give up on them long before the desired resolution becomes a habit or a regular part of their lives.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of the best-selling book Psycho-Cybernetics, explains that to form a habit we simply need to devote 15 minutes a day to the formation of that habit, and do this faithfully for 21 days. By the fourth week, it should actually be harder not to engage in the new behavior than it would be to continue doing it. This applies to any type of habit, whether it is a physical practice or a perception such as self-image. It also helps to establish the habit if the behavior, such as jogging, is performed at the same time of day every day.

I can attest to the effectiveness of this strategy. In the last year I’ve given up both caffeine and sugar as a regular part of my diet. Neither was easy to do (understatement) initially, but now that so much time has gone by, not only is it habit, I have actually developed a dislike for the taste of Diet Coke, a drink that I used to buy cases of at a time. To be honest, I still LOVE sugar, and the holidays are torture, but for most of the year, reaching for a cookie is simply not something I think about any more.

The Essential Entrepreneur’s Success Diet

I’ve just told you how to succeed with a resolution. This can go beyond caffeine or sugar. I believe it is vital as an entrepreneur to rid yourself of something else in 2009 – NEGATIVITY. Negativity is poison to the mind-set of an entrepreneur who wants to grow and flourish. You’ve probably heard the expression, “what we think about expands.” Well, it’s true. And if you’re addicted to news like I was, you are feeding your mind negative garbage that cannot help you succeed. It not only won’t help you, it will hold you back.

Being an entrepreneur is risky. We all take risks every day. Launching new products and services is risky. Dreaming up new ways to provide more value to our customers is nearly impossible in a mind that is filled with negativity and doom and gloom. If you want to grow and succeed in 2009, it is imperative that you break the cycle of television, radio, newspapers, and news magazines.

You must come clean with yourself as I did. “Hello, my name is Jim and I am a news and information junkie.” There, I said it. I broke my addiction on Wednesday, November 5, and I am now operating at a much higher level than I even knew was possible. No matter what is going on around me, I am positive about my business and I am expanding.

I swore off news the night of the election. The next day Stephanie and I boarded a plane to head to the Glazer-Kennedy Info Summit in St. Louis. We were so busy for five days that we never had time to turn on the TV. The USA Today at our hotel door was never picked up. When I returned to my office I was so busy catching up that I was able to keep up my self-imposed ban on news and negativity.

Fast forward to today and it’s been almost two months and yet again, just like when I swore off sugar and caffeine, I am past the 21-day mark and my mind-set has adjusted. I no longer reach for the remote to switch between CNN and FOX News, or listen to talk radio. Now I listen to music or educational CDs, or watch old sitcoms (I love to laugh!). The bonus is that, just as when I swore off Diet Coke, I now have an actual distaste for news and the cable news shows that I used to have on 24/7. You know the type, there’s always one talking head screaming over another – as if either of their opinions mattered to me one iota.

No, my head is not in the sand. The fact is, even with this diet, you cannot escape the news. For example, when I’m in the gym every day for an hour, there are at least eight televisions playing and I can’t help but catch a glimpse of the headlines as I look up and turn the page on my latest book (Facebook Marketing).

Why am I writing this and hoping that you’ll pass it on to your entrepreneur friends? Because our economy is struggling right now and small business is the backbone of this country.  Entrepreneurs and small-business owners are the lifeblood of this economy. Entrepreneurs are the ones who supply most of the new jobs and entrepreneurs are the ones who innovate and come up with new ideas. And when we innovate, come up with new ideas, roll out new solutions, deliver more value to our customers, and grow our businesses, we strengthen our economy.

I’m not only taking strides to make sure that I surround myself with positive, forward-thinking people, I am also paying close attention so I can limit anything or anyone that is unduly negative and keeps me from moving forward. This is not selfish; it is smart and necessary.

So, if you agree with me that entrepreneurs and small-business owners are the backbone of this economy, and will be the engines that get this country back on track, then forward this to your entrepreneurial friends and let’s help each other break the cycle of negativity.

What are you feeding your mind? One of my favorite books is Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.  

Imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something that is not perceived through the senses. Imagination makes it possible to experience a whole world inside your mind. The key to turning imagination into reality is acting as if the imagined scene were real and already being accomplished, not something that you dream about. Instead of pretending that it’s a scene from the future, imagine it as though you are truly experiencing it in the present – it is a real event and it is taking place in the here and now. 

As an exercise, take anything about your life that you would like to change or enhance. Then sit back, relax, close your eyes, and fantasize what you would really like to occur in your life. Don’t put any limitations on it, and don’t shroud your thoughts with any doubt.  

Faith and desire are important parts of this process. Remember, there is no one who is going to judge this fantasy and no one who is going to prevent it from happening. Only you have the power to deter its realization. If it is a vibrant and thriving business you desire, picture in your mind, in great detail, what that business would look like and what your life would be like if you had it.  

You will be amazed at the level of detail and the new ideas that will flow into your mind, through your imagination, about things that you never even thought of. I can tell you that several products and services that I now offer, such as No Hassle Newsletters, Newsletter Postcards, and Success Advantage, first came to me in my imagination. So go ahead, find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed, close your eyes, and just dream. Give it a try!