We vote with our time and our money and we vote for that which we think is important. A good way to figure out what you value is to inspect your check book, your credit card statements and your calendar. How you spend your time and money gives you an idea of what you think is important.

Knowing your values helps give direction to your life. Living your values shapes how you are perceived by others and how you will be remembered.

As you discover your values, your direction in life can be adjusted accordingly.

Take a few quiet moments to reflect on what you value. Examples of values are:

• your friendships

• your family relationships

• your pets

• your car

• your home

• the environment

• health

• promptness

• professionalism

• patience

• freedom

• security

• respect

• challenge

• making a difference

Challenge yourself to identify your top five values and then choose the one value that is more important than any other. The one value that defines you. The value that if compromised you would leave a relationship or a job over. Then take a few minutes to think about how you can exemplify that value in your daily life so that others will know your driving value - not because it is a stated value but because it is observable in your day-to-day behaviors.

Our values drive the choices we make and all of our behaviors. If we don't consciously know own values, then we look for and follow the most charismatic person. We get upset at things that aren't important.

An understanding of our values is what guides our behavior and forms the code by which we live - also known as your ethics. If you have a code (internal), then you don't need rules (external).