We are wrapping up our month-long focus on your personal asset inventory. When you opt to invest in yourself in 2007, you can expect to get a good rate of return. Let's look at what you can do to maximize that yield.

Your decision to identify and apply your strengths in the New Year has most likely generated a fairly long list for you to use. Now is the time for you to begin putting into practice your decisions based on the items on your inventory. Choose a direction to take and start there. Don't worry about what is going on somewhere else – concentrate on one path at a time.

Some of your endeavors will work out better than others as you try new ways to utilize your strengths. Build on those winners and run with them as you let go of your losers. You will profit from your efforts and the inner wealth you realize will sustain you throughout the year.

You will be improving your position as you follow your instincts and create a personal vision for yourself. Actively manage your portfolio of assets as you move toward your goals for 2007.

John Donne, the 17th century English poet and author, reminded us many years ago, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…I am involved in mankind." Women have always sensed this bond to one another and reached out to connect.

Recently we were touched by this woman-to-woman tie when we received a blog comment from a woman in India. Here we are, two Southern California women, writing about issues we think are of importance to the Sandwich Generation and, in fact, a woman half-way around the world was also able, in the blog, to express her feelings about providing care to her aging mum and aunt. She said it had been 10 years since she had written in her journal. Now she was motivated to begin writing again to help deal with the struggles in her daily life – to nurture herself while she was nourishing relationships in her family.

Providing this blog is one way for us to share our "assets" with those in the internet community. You can use your own strengths to give back to society – individually or within a group. Let us know how you have been able to use your Asset Inventory.

Now that you have begun to inventory your assets by beginning a journal and discovering your strengths, continue to concentrate on your strong points as you develop and apply them.

It may be difficult for you to recognize some of your own positive traits. Just as George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) learned in the holiday favorite "It's a Wonderful Life," the people you touch may be better able than you to see your talents and the value you added to their lives. Talk with you friends to help flesh out your self inventory.

As you work to identify your strengths, delve more deeply into your core to discover what is there. If you could pursue only a few goals with vigor and intensity at this time, what would they be? The experiences in your life up until now have prepared you to choose what direction you want to take today.

Now think about the route you selected and your ability to share the qualities you have identified. Find some concrete applications for your skills and wisdom as you benefit those around you. You will be increasing your own power and "personal net worth" as you build purpose into your life.

We ended 2006 by offering you tips to help you assess your "personal net worth," that is your strengths. We noted six ways you can begin to inventory your assets. Now, as we begin 2007, we want to delve into this process more deeply.

Each week in January we will discuss some of these techniques in greater detail. We look forward to your input while you learn to develop the power you already hold. Lets make 2007 your year as you consider yourself a priority and nourish your continuing development.

Our first suggestion was to journal in order to "help you clarify your thoughts and feelings." You may have used a journal as a teenager – but began each entry with "Dear Diary." At that time, your journal may have been filled with the angst that most of us felt in those turbulent years.

Your journal of today may still be brimming over with emotion but now you have the perspective to frame your thoughts, memories and plans. Your journal will help you inventory your assets as you look back on your accomplishments. What were your successes? How were you able to achieve them? Which of them do you still value today? Why?

Our second suggestion was to identify your strengths. When you think about your past achievements, what is the link between them? Do you recognize your strong qualities that gave you the muscle to accomplish your goal? Some of these may be natural talents and others acquired skills. How can you build on those characteristics today?

Using your strengths on a daily basis allows you to see their power in action. You can test them out in a variety of situations and measure your successes. The more you come from a position of strength, the greater the force of your actions – and the more significant your "personal net worth."