Developing mindfulness requires regular discipline. Staying mindful demands constant vigilance. These words suggest that you have to impose a strict regime upon yourself. You don't - by doing less you get more... and it's effortless.

You may have started the day by deliberately taking a few minutes to ensure that you are in the right state of mind for the day ahead... one would hope you did: if you didn't you're a fool!

Sometimes, though, our best efforts are derailed by the mindlessness of others. It is inevitable that, as the day progresses, our minds become fragmented.

Bring yourself back to reality, come to your senses. Stop and ask yourself: "How do I feel, now?" Asking the question is all it takes...

The modern tendency is to define success by what we (and others) can see, what's tangible. But success is about what you feel. Do you feel relaxed? Would "carefree" be a fair description of your life? Do you have enough (of whatever it takes) to enjoy life to the full? Are you happy, healthy and fit? Are you at peace with yourself? If you can't answer these questions in the affirmative, you're missing something. Actually, that's not true... you're missing everything: your life is whizzing past and you're not in it.

Turning up to your life - being focused in the here and now - is all that it takes to be able to say "Yes" to all those questions. Strange as it may seem, to live your life to the full, all you've got to do is turn up! Mindfulness is the practice of turning up. Research has it that we are, in our normal state of mind, mindless. There are good evolutionary reasons why this is so. But we find ourselves in the 21st century - those good evolutionary reasons are of no help now. In fact, they are a hindrance. And, until you circumvent your mind's normal operational "settings", you're missing out on the wonder of effortless, carefree happiness and success.

That's the prize: effortless carefree happiness and success - a prize that isn't just possible but inevitable... if you develop your innate ability to be present. So, when I say that mindfulness is a lifestyle choice, I'm not saying that you need to impose a strict regime upon yourself, I'm saying that, by taking a few minutes out of each twenty four hours, to make sure that you're in the right state of mind, your lifestyle simply changes. What differences will you notice? Your life will flow - as will the means with which to live it. Your business, career and relationships will become effortlessly wonderful. Life's challenges won't go away, but you'll be effortlessly able for them. You won't have a care in the world.

All too often, if something sounds too good to be true, it generally is. This is the exception that provesthe rule. Over the last eight weeks - nine counting today - we've explored how to get yourself there. But talking about it, intellectually understanding it, getting your head around the concepts and scientific validation, won't make you mindful. Now, you've got to do it, you've got to take a few minutes - every day - to experience the difference. When you do, you will be just like my client who exclaimed to me last week: "This effortless thing... it's really real!"