A recent MDRT Minute by Lewis Schiff, "How to Be Business Brilliant," explains how to use the principle of LEAP to excel.

The first step? Pinpointing what you do exceptionally well - that also makes you money. There's a surprising statistic included here. A full 45% of the middle class can't identify what they do exceptionally well. But almost 80% of middle-class millionaires can answer that question. The percentage is even higher when you look at multi-millionaires. They've identified what they do well and makes money. Have you? Taking time to look at your skills objectively can help put you on the path to success in 2015.

The LEAP formula is all about helping you make the decisions that lead to success:

L: Learn. As mentioned above, it's all about identifying what you do well that can make you money.

E: Earn. What do the wealthy do differently in terms of earning? There's one crucial difference in their strategy - they want to own a business, not work for one.

A: Assistance. You need to focus on a network of people who don't already know each other, but who need each other. How can you become the person who brings them together?

P: Persistence. Even if you do everything in the three previous steps, chances are, failure is still an option. Successful people use failure as a learning tool instead of giving up. Use what you've learned and try again. Schiff says that 96% of successful people use failure as a tool instead of giving up, while 54% of the middle class will let go of their goals without trying again.

How many of these principles do you follow already? How many could you do a better job of following? The holidays are a good time to look back on the year that's past and evaluate your personal goals and strategies. Will 2015 be the year you use LEAP to begin writing your own success story?

Lewis Schiff is the executive director of Inc. Business Owners Council, for Inc. magazine's top entrepreneurs, and author of three books on wealth and wealth-creating strategies. Click here for the full article.

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