“A Man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”-Proverbs 16:9
So few words…such big lessons. This is one of the reasons I love the Book of Proverbs. This particular verse is powerful. When you are pursuing that which is in your heart to pursue, it is good to plan.
Planning is key to knowing stuff like the resources you need to acquire or develop, the time you will dedicate, the implementation steps you will take, and lots of other things. But no amount of planning will tell you what your journey will look like. So you should also plan to be fascinated by the twists and turns:-)
I am a fan of planning…to a point. That point is the point of inertia. If planning becomes an excuse for inactivity, then the plan is worthless anyway. No amount of planning can guarantee success, so that should tell you something right away. Only the action you take in pursuit of your goals and dreams can take you to what you consider success.
This means you need to plan to act, and then act…then plan to look at how your actions are working out, then plan to make some adjustments, then plan to continue to act.
I use planning as a way to increase my productivity. I want to be in action as much as possible and be as effective as possible… in other words I want to make sure I am doing the right things…then I can figure out of I am doing them right…but planning won’t tell me that…only doing will.
So don’t spend time trying to plan the perfect formula for success…because you cannot predict every variable on the path in the future. Spend time planning when and how you will do the fundamental process (for example “The Process” book is basics that work over and over and over) or principles for success, and the act on this. Over time the details of your pursuit will allow you to formulate new and better plans of implementation…AND you will be more successful at that point.