The calendar page flops over in a day and you'll be starting month number seven of this year in your business. July signals the rounding of the far turn in the business race and the start of the sprint down the homestretch to year end 2007.

If you are like most people in business, January is your major goal setting time of the year. And odds are close to even that you renewed old and set some new business goals at the start of this year. Written on paper or etched in your mind, 2007 is the year things will change and progress and more profit will be made.

So I want you to ask you to ask yourself this question, "How am I doing with my goals for 2007?"

If you are struggling with making changes, taking risk and maintaining confidence in your ability to do that which you signed up for at the start of the year, you're caught in the mid year slump. After your goals were set at the start of the year, enthusiasm and energy kept you on track for a few weeks, but gradually old habits and attitudes took over and the slump started. You slowed from a hand gallop to a walk over a course of weeks not because you wanted to, but because the many forces of resistance pulled you away from your intent.

If you name the problem mid year slump it is a problem half solved. What is the other half of the solution?

Admit you're slumping and forget about the past six months and start over. The fact that the month will be July and not January to review and rekindle your goals is no reason to postpone what you set out to do. Both months start with J and that's close enough. J is for journey, too, and if your journey has been a shortcut to old habits and negative thinking, change it.

As each day is a new start, start July like it was January and begin again to do the things that you want to do to change your business and personal life.

Maybe your goals include some of these:

• Design a year round marketing plan for your business and put it into action
• Have a difficult conversation to solve an ongoing problem that won't fix itself
• Hire a bookkeeper; get your records on real accounting software like Quick Books
• Call professional horsemen you don't know well and make them a part of your network
• Start an organized personal physical fitness program away from the farm
• Raise your rates to reflect rising operational costs
• Take a vacation
• Sell or find homes for horses that no longer fit in your program

Continue to make changes and

• Take a regular day off
• Let the help go that doesn't fit in your business plan
• Specialize in what you do best and stop doing everything
• Get enough sleep

As usual, timing is everything

The right time to set or reset goals is always. . .Now.

And the right time to start achieving goals is always. . . Now.

Everything else is the wrong time.

See you in the starting gate.

One of the best books I've read about getting out of a productivity slump is Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art".

Written about overcoming the internal obstacles to success, Pressfield provides a good kick in the pants for the reader and keeps you laughing while he does it.

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome." -- Booker T. Washington

"Ambition often puts men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same posture with creeping." -- Jonathan Swift

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison

A graduation ceremony took us away from the barn last weekend as we watched our third of six children graduate from high school. It was a perfect day with sunshine and cool temperatures and being inside for the ceremony was unusually comfortable.

Of course graduation wouldn't be a ceremony without speeches. The salutatorian, valedictorian and class president made insightful observations in spite of their tender ages and were a pleasure to hear.

But, it was the keynote speaker's speech, on the topic of life and goals, which provided the greatest wisdom. "In pursuit of goals", he said, "always be polite as you knock on the door of opportunity, but if the door doesn't open, knock it down. . . "

Taking risk and assuming personal responsibility for success will be two challenges for our son and the entire class of 2007. They will be wise to knock down doors when necessary.

A story of unknown origin about responsibility:

"A teacher opened a note sent in on the first day of school by the parents of a first grader. It read " The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

"A parent opened a note sent home on the last day of school with a graduating senior, "The opinions expressed by this graduate are not necessarily those of his teachers."

Asking young adults to take risk and assume responsibility is a contradiction at times as to how they were raised and taught.

I work with Professional Horsemen who are struggling with the business half of the horse business.

Just like a top performing horse has a strong foundation, so does a top performing horse business.

If you've had enough with disappointment in your horse business, call or e-mail and we can talk about your business and how I may be able to help you.

A big Welcome to new subscribers this week. If you know other horsemen who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to them!

I appreciate your help !

Need a speaker about the horse business for your horse related organization? Talk to me about talking. Keynotes and workshops available. (716) 434-5371