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This bootcamp is designed to help you gain insight into who you are, and help you determine the best approach to improve your life.
In Day 4, we learned about the importance of Goal Setting. Today, we are going to cover a very important area, Planning and Setting Priorities.
One of my favorite old quotes, is “If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail.” I love that quote.
You really need a road map. Without a map, you’re going to have difficulty getting anywhere. Every single Fortune 500 company in the United States has a business plan. Every single major sales organization has a sales and marketing plan. It’s only 2010 now, but I can guarantee you that every person interested in running for President of the United States in the 2012 election already has a plan.
I have another story about Planning: Two friends were hiking in through the woods and spotted a vicious-looking bear. One immediately opened his backpack, pulled out a pair of sneakers and started putting them on. His friend turned to him and said, “You’re crazy - you’ll never be able to outrun that bear!”
“I don’t have to,” he said. “I only have to outrun you.” He had a plan!
On a more practical side, your plan should contain several key components. The first is a list of all of the necessary steps involved in achieving your goal. The smaller the steps, the more manageable the process becomes. The next part of the planning is to create a list of all the resources necessary. What do you need to get it done? Is it additional money, time, or assistance? You should Ask yourself, “Are other people available to help you with your goal? If so, who are they and how can I get them to help me?
We all have resources available to help us complete our goals. Give yourself some time to really think about what resources you have. Who do you know that can help you achieve your goals? Feel free to post your answers in the comments below.
The next step for planning includes identifying the time frames for completions of each of the steps. The more detail the better. Your plans should also include priorities. What are the important steps? What needs to be done first, second, third and so on? You need to first identify what is important to you?
Frequently, one step is a pre-requisite for completing a second step. Clearly finishing an undergraduate college degree is a prerequisite for finishing your law degree. In general, each of your goals needs to be broken up into smaller steps and assigned priorities and time frames for completion. For an overall plan, all of your major goals need to be prioritized. You need to figure out what the most important things in your life are, and set your priorities accordingly. There are really two groups of prioritizing going on. The first is prioritizing your overall goals. What are your most important goals and desires. Once you have identified your top goal and identified all of the steps necessary to complete the goal, then you must prioritize the steps. Then, you do the most important step first. Stephen Covey summed it his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Effective People “Do first things first”
Your Plans should include daily goals, weekly goals, and monthly goals and most importantly, your plans should include a review process. You need to review the progress you are making and prepare to make changes when necessary. If the directions you are using to get you there aren’t working, you need to find new directions. You have to keep making changes until you achieve your goal. You should also look at long range planning. Life plans should include 1 year, 5 year, 10 year and 20 year goals.
My challenge for everybody watching this video is to pick one of your goals and work on a complete plan to get it done. The smaller the steps that you have, the more manageable the process. Write it out with as much detail as possible, and then don’t forget to take Action.
Thanks for watching - We’ll talk again on Day 6.
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