How to create a plan for success

Will you know when you reach your goal?
Do you have a written plan to help you get there?

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To get where you want to go, you should have a clearly defined map to ensure you get there in the right amount of time.  This is as true for a trip across the country as it is for your career. If you don’t have a plan, how are you going to get where you want to go?

Step 1: Set your destination – What is the target that you want to hit?  Is it director of sales for your company,   financial independence, or six weeks of annual vacation each year?  If you don’t identify your goal, how can you know if you reach it?

Step 2: Create a plan – Identify the steps that you will need to take to reach your goal.  Do you need more training, more support, or more time to achieve your goal?  If you have a plan, you will know what you need to achieve it.

Step 3: Be prepared – There are going to be challenges on your road to success, but if you anticipate what they are, and plan solutions as to how to avoid them, you will make your journey less difficult.  You can’t plan for every situation, but give yourself the flexibility to recover from unforeseen challenges.

Step 4: Enjoy the trip – Life’s about the journey, not the destination.  If you are so focused on achieving your goals that you miss out on everything around you – you’ve sacrificed too much.  Enjoy each experience that you go through on your quest for success.  Share what you’ve learned with those around you, and ask them what they know along the way.  Sometimes detours and side trips add more value than the final goal, so put yourself in a situation where you can decide on what you want to do.

Step 5: Measure your progress: Look back at where you’ve been, and evaluate it as you go.  Were you happier in one spot more than you are now?  Did you miss anything in your plan?  Make the time to stop and review your progress.  It’s much easier to get back on track after a small deviation than it is when you are miles, or years, away from your goal.

Plan what you want to do, review that plan regularly, and then make it happen.  You are already successful, but without a plan it’s more luck than skill. 

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