Can
you imagine the results of a carpenter trying to build a home
without a plan? I mean no plan at all - not even a
picture in his or her mind about what the finished home would look
like - just start nailing together some random length boards with
random-length nails from a pile of rubble found on a vacant lot. It
would be a miracle if the finished product had any value at all.
More than likely it would require that a public authority intervene
for the protection of the carpenter and the general public.
Can
you see a parallel here between the plan-less carpenter and the way
most people construct their lives? Few people develop as detailed a
plan for their lives as a hillbilly develops for his outhouse! Is it
any wonder, then, that both types of structures end up as
repositories for allegorically similar substance?
The first
and largest obstacle to planning is that most people have never even
learned to create a plan for successful lives. Even accomplished
architects and engineers who plan enormous high-rise buildings
seldom apply what they know about planning to making their lives run
as smoothly as a construction project. This is particularly sad,
given that the planning process is virtually the same in both
instances, and a successful human life is immeasurably more valuable
than any building ever constructed . The purpose of this article is
to define and illustrate a simple, effective planning process.
The Planning Process
1. DESIRE
A
great plan begins with a desire that certain conditions exist, or,
do not exist. We all have had times in which we experience a
"burning desire" for this or that. Unfortunately, well-meaning
parents, teachers, friends and other authority figures usually
extinguish our passion by convincing us that it isn't possible, or
that for some reason we are not capable or worthy of accomplishing
lofty goals. This is seldom malicious advice, but is based upon
their own discouraging experiences with similar negative advice.
When courage is displaced by conformity, all is lost.
When you
notice the embers of desire still smoldering somewhere in your soul,
protect yourself from those discouraging influences by remembering
that the ones who would hold you back are not doing so well with
their own lives, so what gives them any Godlike authority to dump on
yours? "Physician, heal thyself!" Ignore your critics. Fan
those embers! Add more fuel by studying and learning all you can
about the object of your desire. With even just a little study, you
may find that you are standing in your own
"Acres of Diamonds," as
Russel
Conwell used to put it.
2. FAITH
Even
if you are certain that you are not presently capable of
manifesting the object of your desire, recognize that even the
greatest achievers throughout history were incapable of
accomplishing much of anything at birth. Each and every person
has learned and developed their abilities to enable
them to do whatever they do. There is no valid reason why you cannot
do the same, regardless of your age, experience or lot in life, especially respecting any object for which you have a burning
desire! Our creator doesn't create any staircases leading
nowhere. If you have a burning desire, somewhere, somehow, its
accomplishment is available to you.
3. VISION
Critical
to development of a great plan is being able to "see*" the desired
outcome clearly and completely before it actually exists in
corporeal form. For a few people, this is an inherent ability which
they would be hard-pressed to suppress. For most of us, it requires
some special effort, including a quiet place and time, and the
development of some form of deep relaxation and concentration
process in order to "visualize*" effectively. (*The term
"visualize" is generally accepted to include any non-corporeal
sensory perception, i.e. vision, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling and intuition.)
If visualization does not come
easy for you, it can be easily learned. My favorite book on the
subject is "Creative
Visualization" by Shakti Gawain. (You can get a copy by
clicking on the book name and ordering it directly.)
By
"practicing" the enhancement of your vision several times each day
you will not only improve your abilities at visualization, you will
also begin the process of manifesting the object of your desire.
4. SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
Chances
are that you do not currently possess the specialized knowledge that
you require to accomplish your goal. If you did, you wouldn't doubt
your abilities, and likely would have already accomplished your
goal. There are several ways to gain the knowledge that you
need:
-
Personal study:
Find sources of the information you need through classes, books,
research reports, the Internet, etc. and assimilate it into your
own mind.
-
Cooperation and
Alliances: Find the people who already possess the knowledge
you need, in its entirety or in parts. Arrange with these people
to assist you. This will usually require direct compensation for
their efforts.
-
The Master Mind: This is when you form a continuing alliance
with one or more others who have the same or a very similar
goal, and work together to accomplish it. The other members of
your group will still require some form of compensation, but
that is often just the accomplishment of the mutual objectives.
5. ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
Every
worthwhile endeavor will require a certain amount of money,
time and energy. Before the project is
formally begun, these resources must be allocated to the project. If
they are not immediately available, solid arrangements must be made
to obtain and allocate them.
6. DEFINITION OF STRUCTURE
AND PROCESSES
The
building plan will be based on detailed documents and drawings that
show:
-
the property lines;
-
where the building will be
placed with respect to the property lines;
-
the excavation detail, or
what preparatory work will be required before beginning to place
the building;
-
a foundation plan;
-
framework construction
detail;
-
enclosure details;
-
etc.
..
Virtually
any worthwhile goal will require structural detailing which is
analogous to each of the steps of designing a
building. For example, designing an excellent nutritional program
might include:
-
Determining what nutritious foods are available in your
geographical area (property lines);
-
Decide
which of those foods will be most appropriate to your personal
objectives (placement);
-
Which
undesirable foods will you replace to make room for the
preferred foods? (excavation);
-
What
logical and emotional processes or models will you use to
incorporate the changes? Affirmations? NLP? Self-hypnosis(foundation);
-
What
menus will be used to properly combine and proportion the
nutritious foods? (framework);
-
Will
your menus be limited to only nutritious foods, or will there be
openings for a limited amount of foods considered to be junk?
(enclosure details),
-
etc...
7. THE
WRITTEN PLAN
When
a builder receives the documents and drawings which define the
structure, a detailed sequential plan will be created to provide
step-by-step instructions to the subcontractors and tradespersons
who will implement each piece. An excellent plan will start all the
way back at the beginning, with:
-
a definition of the
desire, (why this project is being undertaken);
-
the vision (artists
rendering of the completed structure);
-
a statement of faith
(projected completion date);
-
technical specifications
and process definitions (specialized knowledge);
-
a
complete set of the design documents and drawings (definition of
structure);
Copies
of the completed plan will then be distributed to the prospective
suppliers, subcontractors and tradespersons to obtain their feedback
and estimate or bid of cost. Based upon the feedback that is
received, the plan will be adjusted and updated to reflect any
necessary or desirable changes. Changes are usually made necessary
by a determination that the plan is inconsistent with the allocated
resources, or by the availability of new information received
subsequent to the original design.
Continuing
the nutritional program example above, a local produce outlet may
not be able to provide a supply of naturally grown vegetables this
season, but promises to set aside a field for growing natural foods
next season if you can help develop a list of 30 new customers who
promise to help purchase the produce. For this season you might
compromise and decide to resort to a neutralizing vegetable wash
until natural-grown foods are available.
8. GOING INTO PRODUCTION
Once all the preliminary and preparatory planning is completed it
is time to make a final, irrevocable decision: to proceed or not
to proceed. One of the values of an excellent plan is that it
will point out any major flaws that would make it wise to either
postpone or cancel the project. Although this is a rarity, this is
the final time to allow such a decision. Once the project is
committed to production it will be a grave error to allow anything
to stop you from completing it. Obviously, this is the time to very
carefully review your plan to be certain that there are no fatal
flaws built into it.
Having decided to proceed, all that is required should be
continuing action in support of implementing the plan. One of the
values of a good plan is that the entire program - every step along
the way - is predetermined. Few, if any, new decisions will
be appropriate in the heat of production. No changes to the plan
should ever be allowed without a thorough and complete evaluation,
going all the way back to the original desire and working through
each and every step along the way. Should a change truly be
necessary and appropriate it will survive such scrutiny. Most,
however, will have been based upon short-term frustration or
confusion, and they will not survive such a test.
9. PERSISTENCE
Earl Nightingale defined success as "The progressive
realization of a worthy ideal or goal." With this definition,
anyone who is in the process of working toward a worthy ideal or
goal is a success. Anyone who is not working toward a goal is
therefore a failure. Keep your goals always present in your mind and
your actions.
NEVER GIVE UP in your pursuit of worthy goals. If you will
consistently do this, you will someday notice that you are among the
very few who have rich, fulfilling "high-rise" lives. You
will have accomplished more in the previous year than most people do
in their entire lifetime. You will have accomplished even more than
you expected of yourself, and people will notice this. They will
flock to you to learn your "secrets" of success. When they do, just
ask them "What's your plan, man?" Then, when they give
you that stunned "I have no response for that" stare,
please give them a copy of this article and send them on their way.
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