It gives us utmost pleasure to wish you all a Happy New Year and welcome you aboard as we travel through the twelve months that makes the year 2014. We believe this year is pregnant with vast opportunities and awesome possibilities; it is therefore our hope and earnest desire that all of you, our readers, will make the most of the opportunities and give life your best shot in the New Year.

 So many factors are likely to be responsible for how this year will turn out for you, some of these factors are foreseeable while some are not, some of them are avoidable while the others may not be, but there is one key factor that ultimately determines how successful or not so successful a year will be, that factor is YOU.  A lot depends on you, your choices, your relationships and how your handle them, your habits, your attitude, your pursuits, your preoccupation, your dreams, your drive, your beliefs and your physical and mental well being to mention just a few. As noted earlier, there are other factors that may not be within your immediate control but the impact of such factors still depend largely on how well you have managed the factors within your control i.e. the factors that are subject to your will or decision.

The decisions you make will determine the direction your life will take and ultimately, your destination. For most people, this month of the year is when they decide on what to do to make their lives better in the New Year. These decisions are often expressed by way of New Year resolutions. Our intention is to offer a few pointers as to decisions that individuals, particularly immigrants could make in order to record remarkable progress this year and the years to come.

Decide on your goals for the year

It is important to have specific goals for each year. What do you hope to achieve this year? Every other decision you will have to make must be in line with your goals for the year. If you have no expectations this year, it is unlikely that you will have a drive to pursue anything that could make your life better in the year. Set goals that are achievable within the time frame of the year in line with your overall goals in life and ensure that they are more stretching than your achievement in the previous year. It is always helpful to write the goals down and articulate your strategies for achieving them.

Decide to pursue knowledge and obtain proper information

What you know and what you do not know will determine how well this year will go. It is important that you are properly informed on everything that is relevant to the achievement of your goals. The difference between those who excel in their undertakings and the others lies more in the superior knowledge they have than in good luck and or any other factor that may seems to have put them at a vantage position. Do not be comfortably ignorant, what you do not know can hurt and haunt you and deprive you of opportunities that could change your life for good. The relevant information you have or do not have will affect the choices you make and as I have mentioned earlier, the choices we make go a long way in determining our lot in life.

For example, it is important that immigrants should invest in getting proper and timely information on their immigration issues as their fulfilment may depend largely on it. It is quite common for immigrants to spend thousands of their hard earned money pursuing options that were never available to them, all because of misleading information. Some immigrants have learnt this lesson the hard way losing their money and ruining their chances of ever living the ‘American Dream’. The cost of gaining knowledge is always dwarfed by the consequences of ignorance.

Besides obtaining proper information and advice on immigration issues, one way of getting ahead in the US is by getting relevant knowledge. You have got to know more than others if you, as an immigrant, wish to achieve relevance in whatever path you have chosen. Immigrants who forsake the vast opportunities that the US offers for acquiring knowledge in pursuit of money tend to end up at the lower rung of the society at the long run. There is no better way of making good money than gaining knowledge. Make a conscious decision to pursue quality information and excellent knowledge this year and your life will be the better for it.

Decide to make positive changes

It is often said that you cannot continue to do things the same way and hope to achieve different results. If your life will be any better this year, it is important that you objectively assess what went wrong last year with a view to identifying changes you have to make to achieve a better result in the New Year. What activities did you invest the bulk of your time, money and energy into last year and how beneficial were those activities to your goals in life? What would you change about last year, if you could? Change is very important to making progress in life, but it is the most difficult thing to do. People rarely consider making changes until losses have been occasioned. Change is the standard measure of growth or decline.

We mentioned on this page last year certain things you must not stop doing in the New Year to make the year a better year but in addition to those, there are definitely things you must stop doing to make the year better. If your current habits, lifestyle and attitude to life are not compatible with your goals for the year, do not expect that those goals will be achieved by some magical intervention; you will have to make necessary changes. If your life is tilting towards an undesirable direction, it is important that you make decisions to change and ensure that you make effective changes in the New Year.

Decide on your relationships

It is important to identify the relationships that are essential to the fulfilment of your goals for this year and decide to make those relationships work. Relationships often thrive where both parties do not take one and another for granted. People tend to relate better with individuals they can trust, hence your relationships will work better if you are trustworthy. You need to maintain honour by making good on your promises or giving reasonable explanation where such becomes impossible. If people cannot trust you to fulfil your obligations, they are not likely to involve you in anything they consider important and beneficial. If your life is all about you and your selfish interests, it is highly unlikely that you will do well in your relationships. Also, if you do not learn to forgive, you will never be able to sustain enduring relationships. Be the person people need and they will always be on good terms with you.

Good or positive relationships are those that challenge you to be better than you are, ignite your passion for life and drive you towards self actualization. These are relationships you need to foster this year. As it has often been mentioned on this page, it is not healthy to be surrounded by those who do not believe in your beliefs or those who share the same weaknesses with you and are not working to deal with them. Regardless of one’s age, a bad company is bound to spoil good character. Your relationships reflect your values and outlook. If your relationships do not project you as you would want to be perceived, it is wise to do away with such this year.

You have got about twelve months ahead of you, do what you must to get the best out of every month and make this year a fantastic year. You can make it in the US.

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