I hear tons of the supposed experts telling others that they need a strategy, yet very few of them actually have a strategy of their own and even fewer can tell you how to create one for yourself. 

The word "strategy" implies planning.  What's your plan?  Let me ask that differently:  what's your plan for your life, for your career growth, for your fulfillment, for your health, for your relationships, for your spirituality, and for your finances?

Do I mean that you need a plan for all these areas?  Absolutely!  You must plan each category of your life individually and create a collective plan too.  This collective plan is really your strategy for success.  So how should you proceed?

For each area of your life, brainstorm and write out exactly what you want.  Go into excruciating detail.  Write out why you must achieve your end result and exactly what you'll lose by not achieving your end result.  Next right out quarterly, monthly and weekly benchmarks that must occur to achieve your success.

That's your strategy, or plan for your success.  The tactical plan is the actions necessary to make the strategy work.  For the tactical pick your top 3 highest value action items for each category of your life that will beat your benchmarks, and execute them every week.  Capitalize on Pareto's Principle where 80% of your success will come from the top 20% of highest priority efforts.

Review your strategy every Sunday.  Take an hour for yourself, review your professional and personal strategy, celebrate your victories and mitigate your shortcomings.  Does this take time?  Absolutely!  Will this strategy reward you?  Thousands and millions of times over.  An hour of "you" time is better than anything else you can do.  Turn off the tv, the radio and your email and start strategizing.

Passion, Planning and Positioning are absolutely critical to you success.  However, without the fourth and final "P", Persistence, you're unlikely to succeed. 

Persistence is simple to define, yet it's the hardest to follow through on.  Persistence is your ability to never give up no matter what the odds, to persevere through life's challenges and to keep your fire burning deep when everyone around you has a fire extinguisher.

We're surrounded by negativity all day long, people telling you it can't be done, or to just cave in and take it easy.  When you listen to the naysayers, and let them into your mind, than can and definitely will kill your dreams.  Guard very carefully who and what you let into your mind and your life.  

Persistence says I won't quit, I won't give up and I will overcome any obstacle you put in my path no matter what.  Surround yourself with those who share this belief and being persistent isn't quite so difficult.  When the world is beating you down, beat it back.  Who said you have to listen to the garbage.  Let the garbage be overtaken by your action and forward movement.

Dig deep and find your passion.  When you find it, hold on tightly and nurture its growth.  Keep that fire lit inside you and create a plan.  Start executing your plan.  While you're taking action remember to position yourself strategically, and when you do that remember never ever give up.  Be persistent in your actions.  The more persistent you are the more likely you will succeed.

And now you know the 4 "P's" to your success.

Have you ever failed at something really important or vital?  Of course, what a ridiculous question.  How did you respond though?  

Everyone fails in life.  Some people more than others.  Some fail by doing the same thing over and over.  Pure insanity.  Some fail by trying to achieve a goal or result, they don't get what they want, and then they commit the ultimate failure - they never try again.  Others fail simply by never putting themselves out there.

For the sake of space, let's forget those who never put themselves out there.  That's just pure loser mentality.  Let's deal with how to handle failures.

What separates the successful in life from everyone else, in regards to failure, is to view and approach failure differently.  First, don't view failure like everyone else.  See the results you’re getting for what they are, and accept them as just that.  Don't see them worse than they are.  The result is just some form of outcome.

What can you learn from your result, and how can you change your approach to get a different result - preferably the one you're after?  It's about measuring and managing the process.  You must think of it this way.  

Next, you absolutely must learn to love failure.  Nothing in life is easy or free, and everything worthwhile requires effort and sacrifice.  I don't know a single successful person who doesn't fail over and over.  They step up though, and respond.  They welcome the failures, because they know that right around the corner lays their next greatest successes.

The legendary basketball player, Michael Jordan, said it best, "I fail over and over again, and that is why I succeed".  Words to live by.  It's not about looking for failure, it's about accepting it for what it is, learning from it, and changing your approach when it happens.

There's one more element to dealing with failure, and probably the most critical - the emotional element.  Rather than go on-and-on, let's get right to the strategies to prepare you.  Here are 5 simply ways to prepare yourself emotionally for dealing with failure:

1. Start each and every day reading something positive and uplifting.  You must set your mind up in a positive way each and every day.
2. Get the heck away from negative people.  Toss them, expunge them, fire them, do whatever you have to, but get them out of your life and as far away as possible.  
3. Surround yourself with positive upbeat goal driven leaders.
4. And while we're on the topic of goals, review yours regularly.  If you don't have any, now is the perfect time to create some
5. Create a list of your last three failures.  Then write down absolutely everything you can do differently to achieve what you were originally after.  No you have a plan.  Go do it.

Look, you failed in life at some things.  So what, who cares.  The only person in the world, who should matter to you, is you when it comes to your success.  Don't be a failure.  Welcome it when it happens, then step up and take some responsibility and action.  Go after what you want.  You failed - so what - don't be a failure!  It's your choice.

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How many articles have you read on the topic, "how the way we do business has radically changed over the past 5 to 10 years", or something related to that.

Everyday another expert offers his or her opinion on how the business climate has changed and the absolute steps you must take or fail miserably.  You know what, they're all correct.  Technology has repainted the business landscape.  You know what else, they are all missing and dismissing one critical element though.

RELATIONSHIPS!  No matter how you slice business, at the end of the day you still have a product or service to sell and those who develop sincere relationships sell the most.  

Don't get me wrong, use technology and new paradigms to meet and reinforce relationships.  But at its core, businesses are built by face-to-face and over-the-phone interactions. Over 80% of all communication in non-verbal, according to the most recent Stanford University study, so you must commit to honing your interpersonal communication skills. 

Here are 5 actions to take now to build your interpersonal skills:

1. Put down the phone, iPad, and shut off your computer when your talking to someone - be fully present
2. Do not text or email when your talking with someone. It's so damn rude and unprofessional
3. Make a list of topics or ice breakers to use at networking events
4. Practice active listening. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionally 
5. Ask open-ended questions that engage both the mind and the emotions 

And one more... if you make a promise, keep it. Nothing destroys the value of your commitment like breaking your word.

Okay, okay, one last one...
...send a hand written note to new contacts that includes just a brief note about something you either talked about or have in common.  They'll never forget you for it, and it will fortify solid ground to build a genuine future on.
Technology is wonderful. It has changed the way we do business from a functional standpoint.  Use it to augment relationships, but don't ever let it get in the way of real relationship building skills. People still buy from people. Go out, shake a hand and make a friend.