If I find myself unable to move from the enormity of the forest, it's time to focus on just one tree. If that one tree seems like too much, it's time to focus on one branch or one leaf of that one tree. Narrowing the focus to the minutiae of the situation can make the forest seem more manageable.

For me, it was that step, that first step, that was so difficult to take. As the new year approaches, we each have that once-yearly opportunity to create and recreate our own, personalized thousand-mile journey. What's yours?

There are simple tools that will help you reach new goals and literally reinvent yourself -- at any age -- despite the universal presence of fear.

Luck is the product of our own mental focus and attitudes.