Old people rarely regret what they've done in their life but they do regret what they haven't done. So think forward to when you're 75 or 80 years of age and imagine how you'll feel if you've never tried.

Then start to think of pleasure you'll receive in fulfilling your beliefs. Think about how good you'll feel when you achieve what you set out to do. If when you're older you look back and think about things you didn't achieve, at least you'll be able to say - "I tried, I gave it my best shot and I didn't sit on sidelines."

Thing Big! The level of your success will be determined by how much you believe in yourself. If you think small and expect small achievements - that's what you'll get. If you think big then you're more likely to have big successes.

Thinking big and having big expectations are often easier, and no more difficult, than having small plans and small expectations.

The psychologist Abraham Maslow said - "If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being; then I warn you that you will be unhappy for rest of your life. You will be evading your own capabilities, your own possibilities."

There is an often-told story of swimmer, Florence Chadwick. On her first attempt to swim English Channel she encountered huge waves and chilling temperature. Her trainers were alongside her in a boat. They had greased her body to provide protection from cold and gave her hot soup from a vacuum flask. She had everything going for her to ensure she was successful.

However a heavy fog set in and as fog descended, her vision was limited to only a few feet. The water seemed to get colder, waves higher and she started suffering from cramp in her arms and legs. She eventually gave up her effort and asked her trainers to take her on board boat.

What she didn't realise was that she was only a short distance from shore. When reporters asked her why she'd given up when she was such a short distance form shore. Her answer was quite simple - "I lost sight of what I wanted to achieve. I'm not sure that I had it firmly in my mind."

You need to have a clear mental picture of where you want to go. You need to visualise yourself being successful and work towards it, you then have a far better chance of achieving what you want to achieve.

And case your wondering about Florence Chadwick - she did become first woman to swim English Channel on 8th August 1950. It took her 13 hours 25 minutes and I bet her arms were tired!