inspiration for today's decision makers

If you're like 81% of people polled in a recent survey, then you've already broken your New Year's resolution.

But take courage: you can give yourself a fresh start with your Big Goal and the smaller ones, without having to wait until 2011 comes round.

Instead of waiting to hear the words 'Happy New Year' again, you can declare today:

'Happy new day! I'm getting back on track!' Or next week: 'Happy new month!'

Whether you're part of the 81% or the 19%, here are some tips to motivate you:

Keep a note of your Big Hairy Ambitious Goal - or a picture or symbol of what the outcome looks like - close to hand: inside your planner, on your desktop or on your bathroom mirror.

Break down your Big Goal into bite size chunks: what first steps do I take? How often to I do this? What do I need to stop doing? What are the staging posts toward reaching my goal?

Don't think, 'once I hit my Big Goal, my life will all fall into place'. Think about how you are going to make the most of life now. My motto is to 'Live with purpose, power and passion' every day (not controlling power, but strength from on high!). How do you want to live?

And here's a quick win that ticks several boxes: drink more water. It'll raise your alertness and concentration levels, displace your intake of caffeinated and sugary drinks, flush out toxins and increase your calorie burn rate.

In one German study, people's metabolisms (which influence calorie burn) rocketed by a third after drinking two glasses of water and stayed that way for an hour. I somehow suspect that burning calories will figure big in many of your New Year's - or even new day's - resolutions!

I drink (water, of course) to your renewed vision.