If you really want to be world class - to be the best you can be - it comes down to preparation and practice.

While their competition is asleep, world-class leaders are up - and they're not watching the news or reading the paper. They are thinking, planning and practicing.

Hard work opens doors and shows the world that you are serious about being one of those rare - and special - human beings who use the fullness of their talents to do their very best.

Be spectacularly great at what you do. Wear your passion on your sleeve and hold your heart in the palm of your hand. And work hard. Really hard.

My best investment, as cliched as this sounds, is the money I've spent developing myself, via books, workshops and coaching. Leadership begins within, and to have a better career, start by building a better you.

Victims recite problems. Leaders develop solutions. That might seem like common sense, but common sense is rarely common practice.