Take: "The Pit Bull and the Poodle Test"
"It is a funny thing about life--if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it." W. Somerset Maugham
With the new year upon us like Kofi on a big wad of Iraqi oil-for-food cash, a lot of folks use the end of one year and the beginning of a new year to assess their character, their accomplishments and their calling to whatever they are pursuing and to evaluate how they stack up to what they want to be and do.

I guess that is why alcohol sales soar through the roof at this time of year . . . because for some, reality can be brutal. I mean, who wants to appraise his life when he's spent the last 12 months unshorn, sitting on his steel beam-reinforced, duct taped couch watching CNN, while complaining about religion and politics as he grows fatter by the day--but enough about Michael Moore. . . .

Sure, introspection is painful, and a brutal assessment of where we are and what we're really doing is about as appealing as eating a morning Bagel with Joan Rivers while she's tripping on acid after just getting fresh lip implants. Nevertheless, sometimes we have to do the uncomfortable in order to go on to greatness.

Speaking of greatness, having a great family, a successful career or a killer business is not easy. If you and I want to achieve what we dream about in life, then we are going to have to get an attitude--and not just any attitude, but a pit bull attitude. The reason why? Well, life is hard, Dinky, and you and I cannot be thin skinned little tea cup Poodles and expect life to give us what we want.

The pit bull epitomizes courage and persistence. They are little, scrappy warriors who will not back down. They face difficulties with a win-or-die perspective. They love the battle . . . they love the heat . . . they love the fight . . . and everything that is good, praiseworthy and noble comes through difficulty.

As a matter of fact, if you are looking for an easy way to succeed . . . for someone to carry you into greatness, you're in for the shock of your life. It is not out there. And if you think life is going to be trouble-free, you're about to have your rose-colored glasses removed, snapped in two and stomped into the ground--which, hopefully, will improve your vision. There is no easy road to a successful family, career or life.

Yes, the road to success is paved with road kill, and the road kill are all the glassy-eyed, weak, unprepared poodles that're looking for a free ride. But life is a battle where only the pit bulls survive and thrive. Great accomplishments aren't for the thin-skinned, fearful poodles.

So, to assist my readers in assessing what condition their condition is in, I have prepared The Pit Bull and Poodle Test to help us judge and adjust our attitudes. So if last year sucked because we were acting like poodles, this next year won't because we will have taken on a Pit Bull Attitude. Are you ready for this?

Pit Bull Test
1. Do you have a definite purpose backed up by a burning desire to see it fulfilled?
2. Are you continuously in action working on your plan?
3. Is your mind closed towards all negative and discouraging influences from foes, "friends," dysfunctional parents, music, books, tapes, T.V. etc?
4. Do you hang out with people who are greater than you in what they have accomplished and who utterly challenge you to excellence?
5. Are you self-reliant and independent?
6. Do you take responsibility for your life, both failures and successes?
7. Do you hate it when you waste time?
8. Do you look at life as a game to be played and played like a champion?
9. Have you become impervious to the criticisms of pusillanimous men and women?
10. Do you boldly face your fears with faith and move towards your goals?

Poodle Test
1. Do you often complain about your life?
2. Do you avoid association with people who have accomplished more than you?
3. Does your life seem futile and your future hopeless?
4. Do you often feel self-pity?
5. Are you envious of those who excel you?
6. Do you worry a lot?
7. Are you overly cautious and negative?
8. Are you indifferent and lacking in ambition and enthusiasm?
9. Do you constantly use excuses and alibis to explain why you haven't accomplished anything?
10. Do you often fantasize about lying on the front passenger seat of a Cadillac with a pink ribbon in your hair with your favorite chew toy?

Now, tally up the checks that were applicable to you in each category. Which one had the majority? If you checked more in the Pit Bull category, then congrats! I'll see you at the top of the mountain next year.

If most of the checks fell to the Poodle side, and you want to get out of your poodle-funk then hold on to your lug nuts--it's time for an overhaul. You can change. Being a Pit Bull is not about chance--it is about a choice.

You're transformation from being a little Fi-Fi is going to be difficult; however, the life you're about to experience is way better then the stuff you're about to leave behind.

You'll find, Ms. Poodle, as you begin the transformation into a pit bull that you are no longer timid, mousy or backward looking. Instead, you're audacious and courageous and not afraid to confront obstacles that hold you back from what you want from life.