Strategic planning and not hope is the way to the next level, so
begin right now, this very moment to write out clearly what it is
you want and where you would like to be.
N
ot satisfied with the present state
of affairs in your life, perhaps your
health, finances, career? Would
you like to see things change for
the better? Do you have a picture in your
mind’s eye of where you would like to be?
If you do great, but the question that obvi-
ously follows is, what plan have you put in
place to get there? Or are you simply hop-
ing that someday, somehow, you will arrive
there? It doesn’t work that way; while hope
in itself is not a bad thing, but hoping for a
better life without planning for it will keep
you rooted to the same spot or worse still,
cause you to move backwards and end up
frustrated.
John Maxwell has said that hope is not
a strategy and I agree. If you are going to
move from point A to point B you are going
to need more than hope. You are going to
need a plan. Strategic planning and not
hope is the way to the next level, so begin
right now, this very moment to write out
clearly what it is you want and where you
would like to be, writing it down among
other things helps to provide clarity. As you
write please ignore the little voice telling
you that you can’t possibly achieve it and
don’t panic, no one is looking at your list,
no one has to see what you have written
down, so go ahead and make it as grand as
you like and while you are doing this don’t
think of where you are presently, just focus
on where you want to be because if you
focus on where you currently are, you will
lose faith in your ability to get where you
want to be.
After you have written it down the next
thing to do is ask yourself the question,
what do I need to do to go from here to
there? The word, do, suggests action and so
action will be required if you will move from
point A to point B. Depending on where
you are and what you have written down,
the answer to this question will vary from
person-to-person. For me at one stage when
I desired a career change, the answer was
to go for certifications, I did and got the
job I wanted, my salary changed and so did
my lifestyle. I was able to move from where
I was to where I wanted to be at the time
simply by answering the question, how. The
answer to that question helped me develop a
plan which I followed.
Whatever your answer may be, I want
to encourage you to turn it into a plan and
dare to follow it to the letter. Your success is
closer than you think.
Eturuvie (AKA Gabriella) Erebor is a writer,
public speaker, trainer, coach and the Founder
of DOZ Network.
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