Having been born and raised in the Bay Area - I remember rooting for the Bay Area sports teams.  The Golden State Warriors - NBA Champions and their remarkable MVP - Steph Curry have been on the dream roller coaster ride of Wins 32-2 on the back of a Championship Season. Within reach perhaps is the legendary regular season record of the Chicago Bulls at 72-10 - I marvel - that something as incredible as this is happening right before our very eyes.  I have watched with interest as their new season began - and in this New Year I ponder can we take some of the lessons they have learned in winning in our own life battles?  I think we can.  Day in and day out Stephen Curry practices his shots, works on fundamentals and lives, breathes, and hones his craft.  I ponder this.  This article seems to highlight the discipline, the focus, and the prowess that has delivered him to this very legendary point: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-stephen-curry-became-best-shoote...

As one ponders this - there are parallels to staffing in the New Year, perhaps, just perhaps we can take our craft, our discipline and our focus to a new level to enable us as Staffing Professionals to get to an amazing record, a champion in our own league, a perennial powerhouse in our sphere of influence.  How is this done? How is it that we can gain, achieve, and unlock this magic within our own careers, let alone our lives?  Think on these points about how Steph Curry has developed his game:

• A Laser Like focus on his Goals - nothing stops him when he is focused and has set these goals.
• Practice - an almost obsessive focus on betterment, on becoming the best he can be.
• An inward fire or inward vision of what he is capable of.
• A Team Work Mantra - a willingness, and humility to seek help when it is needed.
• A Desire to be THE BEST he can be.

There are more points perhaps but let's just put that in perspective.  When driving to success is it not vital to have a vision deep within you of what ONLY YOU are capable of?  This New Year is a time of realignment, repurposing, re-engaging and recommitting.  There will be moments along the way that can quite frankly, as life will tend to do, put the pressure packed, pressure cooker, and refining fire moments in front of you and put you to the absolute and perennial test.

What follows are 10 areas - to which I personally have chosen - perhaps Life Focus areas that once mastered can push recruiters, candidates, hiring managers, our family, friends, and colleagues to that NEXT level.  Somewhere along the way - finding a spark, that mastery of self, or that focus point that will open those doors is key to our rise, and success.  Here they are in no particular order:

1. You have Goals - A vision is only as clear as the goal that is made.  That means - a clear inward vision of what is necessary to make YOU happy.  A goal sets the mark, it makes reality what is in your mind's eye, because you have committed to the gauntlet to make it so.

2. You have Discipline - you keep your commitments, you keep your focus, you keep your mind on task and focus on the necessary vs. the unrealistic.  Quite frankly - you help others find this too.

3. You have Persistence - like all things in life you don't let challenges stop you, but rather you rise to the occasion and find "a way" to succeed. 

4. You are Humble - you listen when others provide advice, you do not take personally the feedback given to you - as a gift it is not always given, but as a tool it is a remarkable opportunity to improve

5. You are Team Orientated - whether you are on a remote, or in-person team, the colleagues, the hiring managers, those that depend upon you, it is necessary to work as part of a group at times to get the job done.  Those who operate as part of a team have the potential to get more done as the Acronym states - Together Everyone Achieves More.

6. You are Passionate - whatever you are passionate about you succeed in.  Quite frankly - if you have no passion, no zest for what you are doing, then why bother?  It is a question you must ask - that every candidate, that every family member, that every colleague, that every person in your sphere of influence should ask themselves.  WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?  What Drives you?  And how can you capture that in every phase of your life?  Can you hold to that Passion?

7.  Your Attitude is of Gratitude - in so many words you live life as if it is a Gift, you don't shirk your responsibility but live every moment as if it is a gift, because really and quite literally it is.  When your attitude is of Gratitude you can influence so many - in staffing that may just give you the means to "close" that remarkable candidate, to woo others to your side, and build relationships that last a life time.

8.  You are Honest & Have Integrity - you live to be yourself and you are honest and upright with others.  You work to build trust with everyone you do business with.  You have a life that is full of integrity and people can trust you.

9.  Your Career is But One Dimension of Your Whole Life - many of us, myself included take our careers literally as the area of our life we focus a great deal of energy upon.  But yet it is just one dimension of our WHOLE package, of our WHOLE selves.  Family, Friends, Hobbies and those areas of life that make life a wonder to behold that helps us renew, re-energize and re-purpose is a VITAL consideration to our overall mental and physical health.  Indeed this is one area that we need to balance.  Work/Life balance is a critical component to be at the top of your "game" whatever that may be.

10.  You are an Achiever - You achieve much because you have set yourself in that focus.  You rise to the occasion by taking into account what you want to achieve, and what needs to be achieved.  A Doer, A proverbial "I Can" mental outlook, is the key to success.

So there you have it - ALL of these areas are sure focus points that Steve Curry and the Golden State Warriors have mastered. It is thrilling to watch where this remarkable journey is taking them.  Winning is a mind-set and a commitment.  It has never ceased to amaze me how much effort may be needed to drive the goals home sometimes.  Only when we commit to succeed, are our lives met with the purpose of our hope and capability.  In the New Year it is indeed a remarkable time to think about these things.

With 2015 safely in the books - I look to sports heroes at times for inspiration and this year found it in an amazing place.  The legendary pace of the Warriors causes me to think - can I win in my own sphere of influence?  The answer is the same for all of us in a resounding focus point and gives me courage and conviction when I say a loud "YES." May the New Year bring you success and satisfaction - may whatever challenges you are facing be overcome with courage, conviction, and a Little bit of the Mojo of a TRUE CHAMPION.  The New Year is here - and I ask the question - "Why Not?" Because nothing can conquer the human spirit when it is focused on virtues like the Champions among us espouse - that is - that nothing will stop Purpose, Conviction, or inward fire once a Goal has been set.