Modest improvements, and major personal transformations, in any area of life are now possible for almost anyone - and all without drugs.

The question is no longer whether personal change is possible for you, but rather: do you want it?

Some people, a small minority, are perfectly happy now and desire no change at all.

Others would be happy to just improve -- modestly or substantially -- in one or two areas of life, perhaps lose some weight, or reduce their stress, or stop biting their nails, or improve their performance in sports, such as golf, or their performance in school with test-taking for better grades or the achievement of a professional certification.

Finally, there are others who want major personal transformation, who aspire, to quote Henry David Thoreau, "to live with the license of a higher order of beings".

Thoreau also wrote that most of us live lives of "quiet desperation". Why? Why do so many people settle for drifting in the status quo sea of a second-rate survival? There are four reasons why most people settle for living on and on with negative issues that they could eliminate or dramatically improve. Each reason is associated with a category or group of people, and I'll bet you fall into one of these four groups of people.

The first group of people has actually tried to make positive changes in the past but have had little or no success. They have relied completely on conscious mind technology and its tools of willpower, traditional affirmations, talk therapy and positive thinking. These tools of the conscious mind have their place, as far as they go. The problem is they usually don't go very far. Willpower, for example, is excellent for brief bursts of activity or denial. But it usually proves useless for lasting results.

Second, many people, with their busy lives, are simply unaware that advances in personal transformation technologies have made relatively rapid and dramatic changes quite possible.

A third group of people have heard about such changes but are skeptical; they are especially skeptical that it will work for them.

Finally, a fourth group of people is neither unaware nor skeptical but have settled in to a comfort zone below their potential. They have become rather apprehensive about change, even positive change. Eventually, as the years pass by, these people frequently have major regrets about their failure to act and to make the most out of their lives.

Well, did you notice yourself fitting into any of these kinds of people? Or perhaps you felt you are more of a blend of a couple of these.

The bottom line is that no matter what categories you do or do not fall into, positive change - often of a dramatic nature - can be yours. Yours no matter what the past has been, if - and it is a big if - if you really want it and are committed to it.

There are a few people who can change their lives positively and dramatically all by themselves. Most of us, however, will do much better with the guidance of a coach. Gone are the days when a coach was just for athletes who want to improve. Now everybody who wants to improve in almost any area of life will benefit from professional coaching.

While there is no such thing as a panacea that will magically make all your problems go away, advances in personal transformation now make positive personal change a reality for just about anybody.

If not now, when? A better you delayed is a better you denied.