The farmer's job is to be ready with lines tapped into sugar maples, enough wood to keep evaporator boiling sap and good company with people who share their passion. In end, farmer's dream of making maple syrup will coming pouring down on our pancakes and waffles.

We can learn a lot from maple sugar farmer about cooking dreams. Like farmer, if we are going to realize our dreams, we must make them a priority. We need to stay focused by keeping our attention on end result; maple syrup. Always share boil time with other passionate dreamers. It makes eventual obstacles and distractions easier to overcome and passion is contagious. Most of all be flexible;the weather isn't always predictable.

Just as farmer has modernized process of collecting and boiling sap to be more efficient, we may need to upgrade and look for additional tools and resources to make our dreams a reality.

Remember some dreams, like maple syrup, come with an expiration date. If we don't do something about them they will eventually evaporate in bucket.

Just as a child picks itself up again and again, every time it falls while taking its first steps, champions are not afraid to fall down or fail.

They know that failure is best teacher. They learn from their mistakes and keep fine-tuning their methods till they succeed.

Champions have courage to fall down and not be discouraged. They pick themselves up and keep trying.

4. Champions are Willing to Adapt

Darwin got it wrong.

Survival does not happen to Fittest, but to Most Adaptable.

As children, we adapt to long-term change relatively easily. We are more willing to accept situations and adapt our behaviour accordingly.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, we become more rigid in our thinking, unwilling to accept that there may be better ways of doing things.

In a changing business scenario, resistance to change makes us obsolete. We end up losing out to players with a better understanding of changing trends.

Champions are those who can adapt themselves and their business to changing trends.

5. Champions are Willing to Innovate

Children are extremely inventive beings. They come into this world with no preconceived notions of doing things. In their minds there are no limits to what they can do or how they can do it.

Champions apply these very principles to take their business to top.

They not only learn from what has been done before. They find ways of doing it more efficiently, more cheaply, more successfully.

As Shiv Khera, motivation coach and author of "You Can Win" puts it, "Winners don't do different things. They do things differently."

You don't have to be like a child in all respects to succeed. It's probably not even desirable.

But if your pre-conceived notions, fears and hesitation are preventing you from reaching your goals, try looking at world through a child's eyes.

At best you will improve your chances of success, at worst you'll remain young at heart.