Since your thoughts are what your belief system is composed of, you should take great care in what you are thinking about because your thoughts influence outcome of every area of your life.

Are you thinking about what you're thinking about? The Bible says, "As a man thinks, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). I believe it is safe to assume that as a man continues to think, so he will remain. Along same line, as a man changes his thinking, so he will change himself, and therefore, his circumstances.

Obviously key to changing your belief system is changing your thoughts.

Can you think of some things you may have heard growing up that could be influencing your beliefs today? How about "I wish I had two nickels to rub together" or "If I had a dollar I would stay up all night and watch it."

Needless to say this kind of programming is detrimental to your well-being. If you were told that money doesn't grow on trees, you will believe that money is hard to come by and you will always struggle with lack. If you were teased about being fat as a child you may struggle with your weight today.

Whether you are in your own business or an employee (or neither) -- if you have a family and a home you are in business of having a life. I'm betting that none of you went into business to become hot at shuffling papers and reams of e-mail.

Eighty percent of clutter at work and at home is a result of disorganization, not lack of space! So if it's going to keep coming in and piling up, you've got to have an exit strategy. Regular maintenance is best way to keep your office tuned up, same as your vehicle.

The key 'success' habit is deciding immediately where each piece of paper or e-mail goes and what's next action required from you. Setting anything aside in 'decide later pile' just makes it worse. Every piece of clutter at work and at home is an unmade decision.

Use my Daily, Monthly and Yearly Maintenance tips to keep ahead of all that information --whether it's paper or computer. I guarantee you can manage your information more easily and successfully at work and at home when you do.

DAILY Unlike some wines, no piece of information improves with age. Set a certain time each day to sort, toss and refile both paper and e-mail. I do mine after lunch while I get through my post meal 'slump'.

Daily maintenance, like brushing your teeth, keeps you from collecting build-up in your systems.

Sort all your incoming materials daily; stand over recycle bins and get rid of all junk first. Sort into Action categories that make sense to you: to pay, to file, to review, etc. The daily sort is crucial just to keep your filing separate from Action items, and keep discards moving.

At home, your 'To File' first sort can be separated into personal and business filing (try a combination sorter:vertical for action/ horizontal for filing).

At work, separate client or product materials from company administrative files in your first sort. More filing category help under Monthly tips.

Set up magazine files for Reference items (catalogs, magazines). At home, make separate sort places to put receipts that refer to warranties, personal property records, or that you need to reconcile with monthly credit card and bank statements.

Use a compartment, or envelope in your briefcase or purse where you can easily stuff any receipts (especially if you travel). Then, use it. In office, have a drop box or action file for day-to- day expensed receipts from your briefcase or pockets.

MONTHLY Calendar definite times to do Maintenance and stick to them.