For the year ahead, I talked to three theorists, each eminent in their own special field, to give us their tips for success in the key areas of careers, finances, and relationships.

Fiona Harrold is one of the country’s foremost business and personal mentors and author of Be Your Own Life Coach: How to Take Control of Your Life and Achieve your Wildest Dreams. Here are her tips for getting the best out of your work situation.

Don’t let unemployment stop you developing
One of the great frustrations for people out of work, apart from general money worries, is that when unemployed they are under-using themselves. We all have an innate urge to be of good use. However, you don’t have to wait to be in a job to put yourself to use. Decide which skills you want to polish. Decide where you want to take yourself and where you want to use your skills. You can find a place to volunteer and hone new skills in a day, in an hour, in a heartbeat. The worst thing you can do is wait for the job or role in which you can express yourself to come to you. An opportunity may instead spring from your proactively engaging in a given sphere. You will also significantly grow as a person. 

Make the most of your current role at work
Take responsibility for your experience of work. You need flexibility and you need to be of service. In fact, think of yourself as self-employed. Ask yourself, how can I be more useful? What does this company need? What are my direct competitors (both inside and outside the organisation) offering? What are the gaps in this company? It’s all about being the brightest problem-solver in the building, about being influential and great to be around. 

Plug those CV gaps
Is a lack of the right education or qualifications blocking your path? Identify the problem. Do something about it. We are in fact living in an affluent country and there is every opportunity to advance ourselves. There are free courses. There are courses for everything under the sun, from IT to floral arrangements. We don’t have to walk miles just to get water like some of the Earth’s citizens do. We’re living the dream and there’s truly nothing that we cannot do if we put our minds to it. None of us is living very far from people who have enough money but are time-poor and willing to pay us for some service we can offer. There are so many things we can do to earn money quickly. Just find a service, get the training and skills it requires, and start doing it a little better than other people. 

For more advice from Fiona on how to leave the world of failure in the job market behind, visit www.fionaharrold.com

Sonia Ducie Dip.CSN.AIN is author of Numerology, Your Personal Guide To Life and teacher at the UK Connaissance School of Numerology. She gave the following guidance on building better finances:

Positive change
Growing wildly in popularity, Numerology is the science, psychology, and philosophy of numbers, and it is based on the numbers 1 to 9. It’s the study of cycles and patterns in life. Numerologically, the year ahead is a 5; therefore, it is going to be volatile, but also exciting as it brings positive change. To benefit from that change, the auspiciousness of a 5 year must be met by your own positive actions.

Be yourself
You are your biggest resource. To make money you must recognise your gifts and be yourself. 

Do what you love
We know that energy follows thought. When you have a real love and passion for something that you produce, sell or talk about, you are much more likely to attract money.

Next … Be flexible and adapt

Be flexible and adapt
If you have lost your job and are finding that your usual spending power is impacted, think laterally. There are always many different ways to money.

Recognise and use your assets
Are you asset-rich and cash-poor? Spending (even small amounts) will help to get the flow back. Hoarding and holding on to money becomes disastrous to the economy, which does no one any favours. Think of 1930s Europe and 1990s Japan. Numerologists believe that societal trends also apply to individuals. If you have anything tangible to sell – an expensive car or books -- then consider selling them. 

Take personal responsibility and ask yourself: How can I be of better service?

Market yourself
How do people know of your talents? Ask for what you need and communicate what it is that you can offer. For example, make sure your website, Twitter, and LinkedIn account are regularly updated, and that you distribute your leaflets and business cards. You can also attend an exhibition or conference to exhibit your wares or services. Sometimes you need to speculate financially in order to gain.

Make a contribution
In this day and age, everybody does some work for charity. When people feel they’re making a contribution, it enriches their lives. It may simply be charitable work for one day a year.

Trust in the process
You put all your efforts in and life delivers what it delivers. This is about “walking your talk” and being true to yourself. For example, you’ve invested in a colleague’s business, which has produced a good but not great net return. However, it has provided you with ample networking opportunities, which has really boosted your finances. One step leads to another, and sometimes you just need to trust.

Accept success and failure
Success gives us a high. Sometimes with success comes complacency, which may lead to a loss of finances. Those who try to depersonalise failure will always do better, because they will get up, dust themselves off, and start again.

End of the cycle
Life is a learning experience – and a process of humility. Financially, it is about learning from what you’ve been through. Are you willing to learn? That is the path to success. 

For more fascinating insights into how numerology could help you, go to www.numerologyworld.org

Michael Domeyko Rowland is the bestselling author of Absolute Happiness. The key to better relationships is the personality, says Michael. What is unknown to most people, he feels, is that the personality is made up of dozens of sub-personalities, all individual structures in themselves. This is why when things go wrong in a relationship, people often say, “I never knew you were like that underneath”. This is because another sub-personality unexpectedly appears.

Apart from knowing your “selves” (sub-personalities), Michael’s best tips for successful relationships are:

Develop your own consciousness about yourself
Know about you so that you become more aware of who and what you are as each day passes. Do not allow yourself to sink into negative emotions. These are poison for a great relationship.

Embark on a life of continual improvement
Check your behaviours. Make relating to others into an art form.

Put your relationships first
Place your relationships as the number one involvement in your life. Make everything else secondary to their success. 

Awaken your own heart
Through the traditional practices of meditation, follow a consciousness-raising path and master it to the full. 

For more secrets of success in your interactions with others, go to www.bodymindinformation.com

Fiona Harrold, Michael Rowland, and Sonia Ducie will be guest speakers at the Inspiring People For Life event at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, on February 19. Also appearing is Dr Ben Johnson, author of The Secret Fame and The Healing Codes and acclaimed specialist in alternative health and cancer therapies.

Mastoor Khan is a freelance writer living in London.