The wind was blowing strong yesterday. As wind hit trees, dead leaves came flying off. It looked liked a leaf shower. I could almost hear trees laughing with glee that dead things hanging from their branches were finally flying away.

As I watched, thought hit me that every once in a while, we humans need to have a clean, refreshing wind blow through us to blow off all those dead things - ideas, attitudes, mindsets - that hang on us and weight us down.

What kinds of dead things are hanging off your branches?

Dead Thing #1 - I Can't Do This

Do you realize that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to do? Your mind is a powerful instrument. If you believe you can do something, your mind is a powerful catalyst toward getting it done. Rather than sit on your couch and repeat over and over, *I can't,* start saying out loud (yes, out loud), *I can do this. I am able. Nothing is too hard for me.* Once you say it enough, you'll come to believe it. Then watch out world!

Dead Thing #2 - I Don't Know How

The people who really are rocket scientists didn't know how to build rockets until they learned. It's OK not to know how to do something. The problem is when we let this attitude keep us from attaining our goals. There are many resources on Internet, in your local library, on your town's college campus. Take advantage of these resources and learn how to do what you need to do.

Dead Thing #3 - I'm Stupid

After you make your plan, first few weeks are energizing as you see yourself moving toward goal. Your vision expands and you can feel positive energy as you visualize future and your anticipated accomplishments.

But sooner or later it's inevitable that you will face an unforeseen obstacle that seems impossible to overcome. The obstacle may be financial in nature, such as unplanned expenses or a failure to achieve initial revenue targets. It may come in form of a person or a group of people who stand in direct opposition to your plans. You'll know when you encounter one of these immovable obstacles when you find yourself feeling defeated. It's at this stage that most goals get derailed.

I think of these immovable obstacles as mules. Mules have three key characteristics.

1) They will completely stop your progress. They seem to wait until you're moving full steam ahead, and then step out in front of you to block path to your goal.

2) They're stubborn. When you attempt coax them to move, they ignore you. When you try to move them out of way, they plant their feet and refuse to budge.

3) They don't go away. They seem determined to keep you from achieving your goals.

When a mule steps out in front of you to block achievement of your goal, you essentially have four options:

1) Abandon your goal. You can rationalize that goal isn't really important, or you can simply give up and feel defeated. This is a common response to mules, especially for people who are in early stages of working toward a goal. Hopefully, you're committed to achieving your goals and have determination to overcome any obstacle.

2) Wait for mule to go away. This will generally lead you back to option one, because if obstacle is truly a mule, it won't go away. Goals, properly set, include milestones and are time-sensitive. The longer you remain in a stalled condition waiting for a mule to move, more milestones you'll miss, and eventually you'll be forced to admit failure.