Why are you doing what you're doing? I mean this absolutely literally - ask yourself this question now, this minute. Why have you been doing what you've been doing for the last 15mins, 30mins, hour? How have you been doing what you have been doing? Do feel as if you're "in the zone"? Are you enjoying yourself? Life is passing by, moment-to-moment, make sure you live it to the full, now.

I've had four conversations in the last week with people who had important meetings, of one sort or another, who had succeeded in arranging these important meetings as a result of their skill, patience, resilience, competence, talent, focus... you name it, they have it! And, yet, they all said much the same thing... "What am I going to do when I get into the meeting? What am I going to say? How should I prepare?"

The answer to the last question is easy - if you've got this far, all your preparation is already done!! Someone once asked me how he should prepare for his keynote speech at a major international conference. My answer: "You've been preparing for, at least, the last twenty eight years of your career. You know what message you want to give - just bear that mind - and let it all come out... no further preparation required!"

Our subconscious minds are expert at arranging things so that they come out not just in the right order but in a compelling fashion. If you've made it to top billing at a major conference, to that key job interview or to that all-important presentation of your idea, you're job's already done. Thinking about it too much (or at all) will simply screw it up. You and I are masters at doing just what we need to do to achieve just what we want to achieve... all we have to do is let our selves do it.

So, if you do have an important meeting, presentation, interview or whatever coming up, consider how you want to feel afterwards, what you'll hear, what you'll see, even what you'll smell and taste (perhaps the sweet smell of success!) and write it down. The rest is, then, effortless.

• Purposefully focus - it doesn't come naturally, we're actually "wired" to not focus
• Set goals in a way that energizes your subconscious into focused effortless action
• Make your very best decisions and solve problems with ease - your brain can do this effortlessly
• Banish stress - we're ordinarily "wired" to be stressed