The good times...

The first six months of the year have been great! Travel agents the length and breadth of the country are reporting fantastic sales - the best it's been in years as some have proudly stated. There have also been numerous reports of more jobs available in this fabulous industry of ours.

The travel industry, while perhaps not booming, is back on track at last. Hopefully those whose salaries were affected as a result of the downturn will be feeling the benefits of the more positive market.

I don't think i'm alone in noticing that there is now an air of positivity in this country and it's certainly rubbing off on agents. I've been on a "negativity diet" for more than two months; it's had a hugely positive effect on my outlook, my work and my life. It's not easy to stay on this diet but I have seen some great benefits of it so I keep trying.

I have set myself a few rules to ensure I stay on this self-imposed diet:

• I dont engage with negative chatter or people
• I dont read newspapers or listen to sad stories on the radio
• I record the news each day and fast forward through the negative bits, if anything dramatic happens in the world, I still hear about it

Interestingly, I've had an increase in calls from people enquiring about joining Travel Counsellors in the past few months. I believe that it's because of the newfound confidence in the industry. We've always had our biggest intake of people in the "good times" and I believe it is because there is less fear or worry about giving up the steady job to make your own way in business. By the time this article goes to print, we will have exceeded our goal to have more than 50 Travel Counsellors running their own successful businesses from home here in Ireland. I appreciate that some may think that it's all too easy for me to say that our Travel Counsellors are successful but i'm so pleased to say that they really are - our individual agents are doing fantastically! The average commission our Travel Counsellors are earning this year is up which is great to report.

Success in any business is down to hard work. Does anyone know a successful business person that doesn't work hard? Lady luck doesn't do house calls so you have to make it happen yourself. Each month I set my own goals both for business and personal life and we encourage our Travel Counsellors to do the same. We also encourage them to reward themselves in some way when they reach these goals. It might be a shopping trip, a holiday, a meal out with the family or just to wake up one morning and decide you are taking the day off to do something indulgent!

Sueccess can be anything you believe it to be. It might be earning more to pay bills or a simple treat for family and friends. Everyone has a hunger or passion for something - it just needs to be released and realised.