I have to agree with you.  Make your own future don't wait for it to make you.

Couldn't have said it better - Thanks!

Wonderful post Brian!  This is a fantastically written and insightful look into how we must proceed forward.  I'm flagging this for a feature, that's a no-brainer to me.

I appreciate this post, because it's so refreshingly true and positive.  I'll be sure to post to the  AR Block party about success stories!  I have one I'm working on right now!

Brian- I so agree! Get away from Naysayers and dreamstealers. Misery loves company so when they see you happy they want to bring you down. Those are the types you need to stay away from, if your friends are like that, 2008 is a great year to make some new friends! Katerina

On board with flagging this! I wish I had a crystal ball as I have so much I need to get right this go 'round. My biggest fear: Will I invent new mistakes? 

Wonderful perspective! 

I have gotten so good at dodging bad news that I think I deserve an award! :)

Invent your own future -- I like that!  To much time spent with life on pause.  I hope your new year is very inventive.

I am inventing my own business, success and life....woohoo! Good job Brian. 

i like that invent your own future. Yep, that's what I'm gonna do.

I love the title of this post, Brian...and the post itself is filled with wisdom and common sense.  Thanks for this bit of guidance as we head into 2008.

We definitely are responsible for our choices and therefore where we end up, to a very high degree.

Jo 

Brian - This is very nicely stated.  Concise and to the point.  I also flagged it for a feature.

Hi Brian:  I liked Katerina's word... keep away from the "dream stealers."  They will get you if you aren't careful.  This is what we need to do this coming year... make our own future... and make our own present.  Thanks so much for sharing.

I've read this twice Brian and throughly enjoyed it.  Thank you!  I am on a mission to invent my own future.

JOHN:  Thanks for your comment.  I never wait for fate.

KATHY:  Thanks for your comment and compliment.

JASON:  Thanks for your comment, compliments and flagging the post for a feature.  I appreciate your support and know that you will be inventing a fantastic future in 2008!

NATALIE:  All the best for success in 2008!  Good luck on your current success story.  Thanks for your comment.

KATERINA:  When people tell you "Happy New Year" -- respond enthusiastically "IT WILL BE."  We invent our own futures and our own present reality.  I avoid "dreamstealers" like the plague.

JENNIFER:  We are all constantly inventing new mistakes!  The key is to learn from those mistakes and continue to improve.  Thanks for your comments and compliments.

SHANNON:  I'll present you with your award in two weeks up in NYC!  Keep dodging...

ELAINE:  I'm in the laboratory right now coming up with new inventions for the new year.  Thanks for your comment.

SALLY:  I'm sure that your 2008 will be very inventive!  Thanks for your comment.

MISSY:  Thanks for your comment.  Happy inventing!

JO:  Thanks for your compliments and comments.  I know that 2008 will be a great year for me, you, and many of us.  Hey, we're all ahead of the Realtor blogging curve, for one thing.

JASON:  Thanks for your praise and comment.  I appreciate all the feature flagging that was done on this post.

KAREN ANNE:  Thanks for your comments.  I hope you invent a fantastic 2008!

KRIS:  Thanks for reading the post twice!  I appreciate your comments and know you'll invent a great new year.

Brian,  What a wonderful and wise message to post!!!

Your (and other participants to this post) comments about inventing our own future is right on the money - literally!!!  Since I am new to blogging, I am also impressed with your graphics and presentation of the information.  It may take me a while to learn those skills.  For now, I will simply admire your ability to convey important information in an entertaining way.

I have a tool that I use this time of the year and it has helped me to be more inventive.  I take two sheets of paper. On one, I list all the things that I have invented (or followed the lead of others) in the past year that have served me well.  I include the time I took for relaxation, personal relationships and recreation...if I found them to be positive on my life in business.  On the second peice of paper, I list the mistakes and blunders that I made.  Because I tend to be a little bold in my approach to life, I always have an ample list of mistakes to review. 

In each list, I take a moment to analyze why it was either bad or good.  From the good list, I start my goals for the new year.  From my bad list, I determine if there was a lesson learned that I need to include in my goals going forward.  Once both lists are analyzed, I keep the goal list for the new year and expand the goals to be as specific and measurable as possible. 

Then, I ceremoniously burn both of the lists from the previous year.  Truthfully, good or bad - it is over.  Take the lessons learned and in your words, INVENT a Great 2008!

Thanks for your post!

Brian:

I agree...the only rain on my parade will be coming from Active Rain and Rain that I help make!  People can take their doom and gloom and go sell it somewhere else.  I have enough gloom trying to figure out which shoes to wear.  That is all I need.  No more!

Here is 2008 being a great year for all of us. 

Brian - Ditto on the rain - Thomas Edison once said "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Lamenting over spilt milk, in this case last years trials and tribulations, will only sour the milk awaiting you in the new year. Fill your glass and drink hearty

As Wayne Dyer said, many years ago, "You'll see it when you believe it!"  It's a true story.

Good stuff.  Keep up the positive attitude and the informative post.

Thank You

Indeed, the best way to predict the future is to make it happen, and if you are true to the cause you can do exactly that, well put, I am impressed with your Blog and all the posts here, more people if they are smart will subscribe to it.

KATHI:  Thanks for your well-thought out and wonderful comment on my post.  I appreciate your compliments and admire you for taking the plunge into blogging, which I am sure that you will find very rewarding.  There's much to learn and new things being developed and discovered every day in the online world and you'll surely learn along with the rest of us.  However, I've found that despite whatever bells or whistles, graphics, etc. you may add to a blog post, blogging really comes down to the content of what you write.

I really like your idea about making the two lists on two separate sheets of paper -- reviewing those lists and then burning them both ceremoniously to end the year and start afresh in the new year.

Have a wonderful 2008!

JESSICA:  Thanks for your comments.  My only words of advice are to make sure your shoes match your belt.  If you're wearing a dress or a skirt, I haven't a clue.  Enjoy the last few days of 2007 and invent a wonderful 2008!

KATHY:  Thanks for your comments.  I don't cry over spilt milk either.  I'm filling my glass with champagne and will enjoy the success that the new year brings.  Cheers!

ERIC:  Thanks for your comment.  I like that twist on a popular saying.

KEVIN:  Thanks for your comment.  Have a wonderful 2008!

LANCE:  Thanks for your comments and your call for subscribers!  I appreciate it.  Have a great new year!

Brian, this a very nice post. It was good on many levels. I like the Alan Kay quote. Lots of good advice packed in from beginning to end. I enjoy your work and writing. Happy Holidays and I hope you have a great New Year and 2008 is all desire!

JEANEAN:  Thanks for your comments.  I first saw that Alan Kay quote in the back of Forbes magazine, which always has some good quotes.  In fact, I like their quotations so much that I bought the Forbes Book of Business Quotations last year.  Then I looked up Alan Kay who has quite an interesting background.  Thanks for your wishes and I hope that you have a fantastic 2008 as well.

Thanks - I will make a difference.  It's already shaping up to be a very good year.  Same to you.

Brian- Great inspirational blog about creating our future. You are so true. Life is what you make, get off the bench and get into the game.

GEORGINA:  Best success in 2008!  Thanks for your comment.

MARK:  Thanks for your comment.  We have to make our own life and invent our own future.

So true - Excellent advice from a reliable source.  You never cease to inspire!

MARGARET:  Wow!  I'm really flattered -- this is the 3rd time today you've told me that I inspire!

Brian,

You couldn't have given me better advice on this first business day of 2008.  I'll take the advice.  Thanks!

Mike in Tucson

MIKE:  Thanks for your comment.  Have a great New Year!

Wow!  I just forwarded this to my colleagues.  This is some great wisdom in a neat package.  Thanks!

Thanks Brian Good post, I also subscribe to Jeffrey Gitomer and he has great stuff.

Joey

TRACEY:  Thanks for the compliment and for passing this along to your colleagues.

JOEY:  Thanks for your comments.  I saw Jeffrey Gitomer live a few years ago at a seminar in D.C. and have been reading his stuff ever since.

Great post. I'll start keeping an eye on your stuff. We just discussed similar ideas at our board retreat. You've gotta stay positive and creating your nown future is the best way. Nice job.

GENE:  Thanks for your comment.  I really appreciate it.  I just got back from the Inman News Real Estate Conference in NYC and am loaded up with new great ideas on improving my business and inventing the future.

Brian, I'm sorry I missed this when you first put it up, but your link worked.

I too am in the lab working on the future. I will post about this a little later today. I'll be looking for your input.

BTW it is never a good idea to give a woman advice on how to dress.

Bill Roberts

Brian- I too missed this as I wasn't even an Active Rainer back then so glad the link was out there. Well said.  We are all in control of our own destiny. If you think life is bad it will be, if you think life is good it will be that also. To me that is such a liberating feeling knowing I have control over how my day, my week, my future plays out.

BILL:  Thanks for your comment and clicking over and reviving an older post.  I'll take a look at your post.  I only give advice when asked by my wife and then I usually say that she looks beautiful wearing anything.

MARTHA:  Thanks for commenting and I'm glad that you had a chance to see this post.  We do have control over our destiny, which makes life all that more exciting.

Brian, Not so! You better read back through your comments. You advised Jessica Horton.

Looking forward to your comments on Higher Standards A Call For Action

Bill Roberts

BILL:  Aha!  Now I see what you were talking about...  I enjoyed your post.