DEAR HARRIETTE: I own a small business, and I have been fortunate to receive help from different universities whose students work for me for a few hours a week in exchange for school credit toward their degrees. The program is wonderful; I am appreciative because I’m still trying to get on my feet, and I’m not making much money.

For the New Year, I have been offered three different people who want to work with me. I think that’s too many people for me to manage. As nice as the offer is, I know that my responsibility is to teach each student, not just give them busywork. I feel bad, though. I know these young people selected me to work with. What can I do? -- Luxury of Riches, Norfolk, Virginia

DEAR LUXURY OF RICHES: You have to be practical. Internships work when both the supervisor and the intern have the time and focus to work together. Otherwise, you both are bound to be disappointed. With that in mind, evaluate which of the interns is best suited to work with you. Can you comfortably take two, or should you have only one? Sometimes having two people can be effective, as they can work together on projects. Select the best candidate(s), and let the other(s) know that you cannot welcome them to your business at this time. If you think the candidate(s) that you were unable to accept could be good at another time, be sure to say that.

Selecting an intern is just like hiring an employee. You need to pick carefully. Otherwise, it can be too taxing on you during the intern’s stay.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I serve on several not-for-profit boards and have enjoyed myself immensely as I have helped these organizations do good work. I am now 65 years old and retiring from my job. I think it is time to retire from my boards as well. I don’t have the same kind of energy that I once had, and I think that it would be nice to slow down from so many responsibilities. I have made my thoughts known to the boards, and they all are begging me to stay. Their argument is that I will have so much time on my hands I will be bored. That could be true, but I have other plans. I don’t want to let them down, but I also want some time off. Do you have a recommendation for how I should plan out my imminent retirement? -- Next Steps, Washington, D.C.

DEAR NEXT STEPS: Your boards have a point. Walking away from all your responsibilities could indeed be boring as you have filled your life with so much work for so long. What you may want to do is look critically at each board and consider which you might remain on if you were to choose only one. Consider the amount of work that you would need to do compared to the energy you would feel comfortable giving. Resign from the others, and then see how it goes with the one board. If you still feel that you want to resign, do so. Know that you probably will have to wait to leave any boards until your term is up. Sometimes you also have to wait until you are replaced. Figure that out, too.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR READERS: Happy New Year! What a blessing to step into 2018. I truly believe that it is a precious honor to be present and to have the opportunity to work toward our goals and make our dreams come true. I am a big believer in the power of dreaming. Since I was a little girl, I would dream up ideas for business, for creative play, even for getting out of responsibilities. You know how kids can be! My dreams told me that I was going to be a writer. Dreams do come true.

I thought it would be valuable to talk about the power of our dreams and intentions as we begin the year, because I know that within each one of us there are worthwhile ideas just waiting to emerge. And yet, too often we do not take the time to notice them, let alone write them down or tend to them so that they can manifest.

Consider this a clarion call to you to slow down long enough to identify and then nurture the dream inside. Go a step further and accept that it is your personal duty in your life to cultivate the fruit of your deepest convictions. Why? Because too many of us grumble along doing things that do not fulfill us out of a false sense of stability or fear or laziness. Yes, I said it. Because it’s true! Some of us give up because everything just seems too hard, or a catastrophe befell us and the climb out of the hole seems too far away. Others do not dare believe that their measly ideas would amount to anything worth sharing.

To all of those voices inside our heads, I say, “STOP!” Stop the broken record of negativity that serves only to lower our self-esteem and paralyze us from taking action. Stop complaining or hiding or plodding along doing things that do not serve your highest self.

Evaluate your life. Figure out what is working for you and what can be discarded. This includes people, places and things that simply must go. Be still long enough to hear that voice within. Pay attention to your dreams -- those that occur in your sleep and as you are going about your day. Write down what you harvest. Then nurture those ideas. Give yourself an hour each day to cultivate your dreams. Figure out what you need to learn to be prepared to do the work. Align yourself with the people who will support you. Walk away from those who stand in your way.

Why is this important? Our world thrives based on the goodness that we put into it. When people are not offering their best to themselves, their families, their communities and their jobs, negativity can fester. We live in times that require us to reach for the highest in ourselves and others. Our ideas, our inventions and our discoveries are essential to the successful journey that equals each of our lives. Every life is valuable. The question is how valuable do you consider your contributions to be? And are you willing to do the work to make the best of you manifest? I hope so. It is time to leap into your greatness!

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: A professional friend called me to ask my advice about working for a company I worked for a few years ago. I had a horrible experience working with management, even though I liked the job I did. It’s weird -- on one hand, it could be awful, but it was good, too. My friend was asked to assume a leadership role. It could be a good opportunity for him. I don’t want to dash his hopes.

My biggest concern is that when I worked with these people, they did not pay their bills. It hurt my professional reputation. I would hate for my friend to have the same thing happen to him. He is so excited. Do I dare tell him details of what happened when I worked there? -- Professional Advice, Chicago

DEAR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE: Your friend contacted you as a reference, believing that you would share your professional insights with him. Do that. Too often, people go into new opportunities without getting perspective. Find out from your friend what is being offered to him, what responsibilities he will have and what promises have been made regarding hiring. Suggest that he ask directly about the questionable debt practicies.

Then tell him your pros and cons. Be specific about what you appreciated about the job and how you benefited. Conversely, describe the areas that concerned you. Do not attempt to make a decision for your friend. Instead, paint a clear picture of the company from your perspective, and then leave him to make his own decision.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My company is taking the leadership team on a retreat soon, and I have been invited. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity. The only thing is, I have never been out of the country, and I don’t have a passport. I heard that it takes a long time to get a passport. I don’t want to miss out on this trip. I also don’t want everybody to know that I have never been anywhere. Most of my co-workers who are on the fast track spent a semester abroad while they were in college. Quite a few of them go to the Caribbean every year. Me, I just work and go home. I work a gazillion hours, which is why I have been promoted. I worry that I’m not going to measure up. -- Going Abroad, Cincinnati

DEAR GOING ABROAD: You are likely not alone. Many people get passports when they are adults. Do not be ashamed about that. Get proactive. You can get an expedited passport -- for a premium price -- in a matter of days. You may need proof of travel, which would be a copy of your airline ticket. Then you should get your passport photos taken and choose an expediter to process your passport. Depending on how much time you have, you can also process it normally. Without extra fees, you need four to six weeks. Expedited is two to three weeks, and expedited through an agency is about eight days. For more information, visit travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/processing-times.html.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)