I believe every one of us has a desire to accomplish great things, to do something meaningful, to have an impact. Yet, so many of us don't take the actions necessary to create the success we desire. Then there are others who are very busy taking actions but the actions have nothing to do with their vision and goals. They've become lost in the busyness of life.

These are uncertain times. People are wondering what bank is going to fail next. We're questioning how our industry and job will be impacted. We're confused about what action to take. Unfortunately this uncertainly creates what I call a VOID and my theory is that where there is a VOID negativity will fill it.

One of the key principles of The No Complaining Rule is that we have a choice of how we invest our energy at home and at work. We can focus on the negative or the positive.

With the mortgage meltdown, floods in the Midwest, $4 a gallon for gas, food prices, the economy, famine, war in Iraq, etc., many would agree that there is a lot of negativity in the world and certainly a lot to complain about.

They said he should be fired. They said he didn’t connect with his players. They said he was an archaic dinosaur whose old school domineering coaching methods didn't work anymore with today’s younger players. They said he was as warm as a block of ice.

But then something happened.

20 Tips for a Positive New Year

I believe it's one of the biggest problems facing our society today. Everywhere I go people are overworked, overtired and overstressed. There's so much we want to see, do and accomplish but unfortunately we’re running on empty!

It's easy to be positive when everything in life is going great. The hard part is staying positive when life kicks you down and knocks you around.

Do you have new project that needs to get done? Perhaps it's a new proposal for a client or the first chapter of the book you have always wanted to write. Maybe it's a new song that has been floating in your head or a new business plan for your new business. If there is something that you need to do, but it's not getting done, one of the first places to start is to clear out the clutter around you and inside you.

I remember, as a high school athlete, being frustrated that college football recruiters were not calling me or sending me letters to come to their school. Turns out I was a good football player but not good enough to garner national attention.

While love and business are rarely used in the same sentence and giving hugs is not a practice typically endorsed by most HR managers, without a doubt love is the greatest performance, productivity, and loyalty builder there will ever be.

If there is one thing I have learned while traveling around the country with my wife and kids, besides the fact that I actually enjoy country music, is this: Life is a school and each one of us is presented with life lessons that we are here to learn; and these lessons are most often revealed through conflict with the people closest to us.

Andrew Rondeau: Today I am interviewing The Energy Guru, Jon Gordon. Hi Jon, how are you?

Jon Gordon: I am great and very very busy and I would not want it any other way!

There's a new book with a pretty blunt title that is flying off the book shelves and topping the business best seller lists. For the sake of avoiding email filters we’ll just say the name of the book is "The No A_ _ Hole Rule." The success of this book tells me one of two things. Either people love the word "a _ _ hole" or there are a lot of "a _ _ holes" in our businesses and companies that everyone wants to know how to deal with. Based on my work with businesses and Gallup's research estimating that negativity costs companies $300 billion a year, I'd pick the latter reason.

Do you have a goal you want to achieve or success you want to create? Perhaps you want to lose weight, grow your business, receive a promotion, run a marathon, win a new account, overcome an illness and get healthy. If you are like most people you have an idea of where you want to go and how you want to get there. Yet in spite of this you're not moving as fast or as well as you would like. Your energy bus is not rolling down hill. Instead you may feel like your running on empty or stuck with a flat tire. Or perhaps you feel like the little engine that could-trying desperately to chug up the hill.

As a student of people and ideas I have to admit that what two guys are doing in a Northeast Florida Starbucks is absolutely genius.

The other day as I tried to pay for my green tea at my local Starbucks the cashier said, "Don't worry about it sir. Those guys over there are paying for it today." She then handed me their business card from a stack by the register. Turns out the guys were wealth management / financial planners who once a week, at different times, will spend a few hours at this Starbucks and buy customers their coffee or tea. Most people, like me, will walk over and thank the gentlemen and walk away with their business card in our pocket.

After speaking at Guideposts' Power Your Life with Positive Thinking event last week in Minneapolis, one thing was perfectly clear...

"The Secret" is no Secret.

Long before anyone thought there was a secret Norman Vincent Peale talked about the power of positive thinking. Over 50 years ago he founded Guideposts and has taught millions that by changing our thinking we can change our life. By changing our thoughts we can improve our success, health, jobs, happiness and relationships.

Where are you when you get your best ideas? This was a question posed by Michael Gelb, author of "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci." Most people say the shower, bed, garden, the walking path or treadmill. Hardly anyone says great ideas come at work. In fact, Robert Frost once joked "The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and doesn't stop until you get to work."

Have you ever felt the nudge to take a leap that would propel your life and career forward but something held you back? All the lights were green but for some reason you saw a stop sign in your mind. You wanted that promotion, but you didn't ask for it. You knew it was time to ask your client for more business but you didn't. You were ready to take the relationship to the next level but you didn't pop the question.

What is your vision for your life and career? I ask you this because, as Joy the bus driver says in The Energy Bus, "Every journey begins with a desire and vision to go somewhere and do something and if you have the desire and vision then you also have the power to make it happen."