The other day I was waiting for my turn at a gas station to pay for my gas (since I don’t like to run my card at the pump) and I was feeling very sorry for the person who was in front of me.
Why was I sorry?
Because they were probably spending few days meals in stupid lottery tickets.
I don’t know if you know the statistics about lottery winning, but you have a better chance to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery. People who play the lottery expect one thing, though. They’re expecting to get something for nothing, but we know that this very seldom happens.
If you really want to get something for yourself, you have to learn how to plan it. It doesn’t mean to WORK HARD for it, as some people think. No, you don’t necessarily have to work hard, but you have to plan for it. I’m sure you know the old saying “if you fail to plan you plan to fail”.
Failing to plan is more common than you would think. I actually know some people who have created products that they want to sell, but have failed to plan the process of putting such product in front of potential buyers. Yet, they expect their product to sell.
In this way, they are also expecting something for nothing, and they have failed to plan in order to sell their product.
I also personally know a handful of talented people which talents have totally gone to waste because they’ve never “plan” to use such talent for their own financial benefits. For their whole livelihood.
Bottom line, no lottery ticket, no product or talent will ever bring you any success or money unless you know how to plan. Planning is both an inside and outside job.
In this article I wanted to underline what you can do to best mix both your inner and outer intentions so you can plan for success and not let your lack of planning lead you to failure.
1 – Determine Where you are Now
Where are you in your life now? Analyze where you are in all aspects of your life. Financially, physically, professionally in your relationship, and wherever else you want, and decide what needs to be improved the most, and concentrate on that for the moment.
For example, if you want to work on your finances and business situation you could take a sheet of paper and draw a line in the middle. On one side write what is and on the other side write what you want it to be. Here is an example of what I mean. But you could make that list as long and as different as you want.
Once you put down in writing where you are and where you want to be, you have a visual of what you have now and what you want to have in the future. This list is the beginning of planning your actions to get to your goals.
When you read your list of all your items one by one, you need to ask yourself ask yourself what steps do I need to take in order to get there?
This exercise is great for procrastination.
2 – Let your Dreams Come Out
What do you really want to do in life? Are you willing to do what it takes to be, have or do what you want? Would you like to live somewhere else? What type of lifestyle do you have in mind? What do you REALLY want for yourself?
Do the same excises again. Take a bank sheep of paper and write down everything you want one by one. Name your short term goals and your long term goals. If you can you could even put an approximate date for each desire to become a reality.
People who succeed in life are people who are going after their dreams. People who fail are those who don’t. It’s not about having talents and dreams, it’s about going after you dreams by using what you have.
My mother ‘side of the family is full of very talented people, but none of them have used their talents to do anything that could have changed their lives. They never went after their dreams.
Talents and daydreaming won’t get you where you want. You really have to GO after your dreams.
Write down your dreams big and small and analyze how you can get there!
3 – Know your Strengths and Weaknesses
We all have strengths and weaknesses. For this exercise take another blank sheet of paper and draw a line in the middle. Write down your strengths on the left side and write down your weaknesses on the right.
Then, analyze what you could do in order to use your strengths for what you want, and what you could do to improve your weaknesses.
Remember, that you always have a choice, and you CAN use even your weaknesses for positive things.
This blog has many tips and tools to help you work on those. EFT is a great free technique that you can use to work on any type of weaknesses you may have.
4 – Write Down your Plan
Now it’s time to write down your plan. You can write down only one plan at the time or you could write several. It’s up to you, but just make sure each plan has its own notebook.
Get a brand new notebook and name it “what ever your plan is”. Write down what you want and how you’re going to get it.
Here I’m going to tell you one of my little secrets. You see, I have this crazy idea (maybe), but it’s very strong in me, to purchase my childhood house that my mother sold in the late 1990’s.
I have very strong emotional attachments to this house, and it’s always been mine in my mind. I never let it go. So, I decided that I am going to “buy it back”. Yes, this house will be mind again, and yes, I’ve got plans for it.
What I did, is write a plan for this. I got a brand new note book, and I named it My house at Saint-Sorlin. I wrote down all the repairs that I going to do and how I want everything to look like. This will be my full circle story. I will live in two countries which I am blessed to be a citizen of.
I have all that down, guys!
You need to write down your dreams as if they were already in the process or even already here!
5 – Visualize your Plan
Now it’s not enough to write down your plan, you have to visualize them as fully and in details as you can. You have to feel it with as much emotion as you can.
This part is really important, because it’s the part that affects your subconscious mind the most.
Visualizations and emotions are activating the law of attraction on steroids. So, don’t ever forget or by pass this part.
So, did you enjoyed this how post? The questions is are you going to do this? Let us know in the comment area down below!
You said it, Sylviane. Planning is so important! I tell this to my clients all the time, even for small projects. Everyone wants to jump in and do something but they rarely stop to think “How am I going to do this?” That is setting yourself up to fail because you don’t have any expectations, you haven’t thought about any risks and you don’t have any goals so you don’t even know what you’re trying to ultimately achieve.
I also agree that writing things down is important. I have always done that (I guess it’s the writer in me!) and I like to see things in black and white on paper. There’s nothing as good as writing things down to help you make sense of them and fill in the gaps.
I hope that you do get to buy back your house! That would be amazing. And it’s so beautiful. Knowing you, it’s not crazy at all – I’m sure you will do it one day!
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Hi Carol,
It seems that you are totally doing this just fine. Writing things down and planning is the way to go. Yet, many people are so not even thinking about doing this.
As they say, writing is the action of thinking. It has more weight than people think.
Thank you for your encouragement of my “crazy” thought to get my house back. Then, if you ever want to visit the country side of France, you’ll be welcome there for some vacations. Yeah, free lodging in a beautiful and quite place of France. I bet you couldn’t refuse that!
Thank you for coming.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
Sometimes it seems we live in a world where many people truly believe that the “world” owes them a living. They see others who are very successful and are jealous of them instead of studying them to learn how they achieved their success. Very few people inherit wealth anymore the vast majority earn this wealth through applying the principles you’ve outlined above. Thanks for the post!
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Hi Dick,
Yes, I like what you said. Instead of getting jealous which is a very destructive emotion, by the way, try to figure out what that person does to be successful and try to do the same.
You’re right most wealth is earned nowadays more than inherited.
Thank you for you valuable input.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
I like the way you have mentioned how to plan your success. Rightly said that its all about planning and carefully executing rather than working hard. I am not sure what EFT is but seems interesting, thanks for mentioning that. I just had a quick look at the tapping method. I am going to try it. Thanks and best wishes to you.
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Hi Shalu, and nice to see you here.
I’m glad you’ve learned about EFT on this post. EFT goes for Emotional Freedom Technique. It’s known to have cured people from emotional and physical issues and even diseases. I’ve been practicing it on me for 6 years as a cure for everything.
Thank you for coming and for your input.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
Interesting post Sylviane!
I totally agree with your where planning is concerned, which we need in every little things we do. Whether we are mothers or working women, we need to plan things ahead, and that’s how they take place. For example, a Mom will plan ahead what she needs to cook to feed the family, or how she’s going to manage the rest of the day and take out time to sit and do her work. While for others, just as you mentioned – there’s planning in every step.
Sadly though that most people don’t think so much ahead and just keep going from one day to another. While that has it’s own benefits as you don’t think so much ahead and stress yourself out, but then if you don’t visualize what you want, how do you aim to get it?
I agree, you need to start from the very basics first about where you are presently, and compare it with where you want to go, then write them down, and take measures to achieve them.
Ah…I liked your plan for getting your ancestral home, which I’m sure you would in time, especially if you apply the Law of Attraction 🙂
Thanks for sharing these great ways with us that would help everyone. 🙂
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Hi Harleena,
Ah your comment tried to hide from me, but I’m glad I found it. Sorry about that!
Yes, as a mom, I’m sure you have to plan things out on a daily basis, so things can move along as smoothly as possible.
I think that planning is part of success in everything we do big or small.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
Hi Sylviane.
What a great post! It is a great reminder for me because we are in the middle of doing taxes and that is where we go over the year to see how productive we really were!
I did something like this with two sides of the paper last year and now, I see that I have accomplished some things, but not exactly what I was planning. But…after looking at this carefully, I realized that “life issues” came up this past year. Time had to be spent on family things and illnesses. So I went from the feeling of “Oh NO” to the feeling of “It is OK..I’ll just do it better now”
I always enjoy doing the exercise above – what I’m doing now and what my goal is. I keep that paper on my desk every day because I need to remind myself and get it into my subconscious.
And yes, I do spend time visualizing. To me, it is what manifests things in my life the most. I can actually “see” every little detail. But even here, there has to be a clear plan.
Right now, I am giving myself the time to work on my weaknesses. I am dedicated to working on more of the technical stuff and stronger communication skills for my email list. I just keep writing and writing more than I do my blog because I lack the skill when it comes to my list. It is a positive challenge!
Thanks once again for the empowerment!
Donna
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Hi Donna,
Well, interestingly I just left your blog post that you said was inspired by this post, and I was flattered.
Yes, no matter how much we plan, life will at least at times get in the way, thus the need to plan even more so, because once the storm as gone away or subsided we can get back to our plan.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and you’re welcome 🙂
Hey Sylviane,
I’m a planner when it comes to certain things yet I’m not when it comes to other things. Take for instance going on vacation or saving up for something in particular I’m a big planner. Knowing what I want in my life 10 years from now, total opposite. I have no clue where I want to be in my life let alone my business 10 years down the road.
It’s taken me a while to get to where I am now but trust me, I didn’t plan it. I still wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do and it all kind of just fell into place. Is that the best way to deal with your business? Absolutely not but I also know that as you teach, when you want something in particular the how will show itself. Since I wasn’t aware of how the how would take place I definitely couldn’t plan that part out.
I know it’s important so I’m not belittling that at all, I just know for me that sometimes I’m not so great with that type of planning. 😉
~Adrienne
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Hi Adrienne,
I know what you mean, because I have spent most of my life until now without planning. I decided to move to the US in November 1992 and flew to New York in January 1993.
I’ve done the same thing with about everything I’ve done in my life, but frankly, in my case it really didn’t serve me well, and I know that if I had plan things in the past I might have not have to go through some of the ugly things of my life I had to go through. Some unplanned things I still pay for today.
Now, I want to plan everything and visualize it as much as I can, because I feel that it’s going to make me get ahead in life. I’t about time 🙂
Thanks for coming Adrienne and sharing this with us.
Hi Sylviane
I so agree with this post. The times in my life where I have had a dream, written it down and visualized it I have achieved. I sometimes get to attached to the “how” because I think the Universe has a place to play and we do not always see all the possibilities.
I am not suggesting I sit around visualizing and chanting all day as we must take action towards our goals. I like to stay open to possibilities showing up.
Example is your Mother’s house. I think what you have done is perfect. Somehow the Universe plays its part too.
For me this part of LOA is always the hardest – allowing and trusting and not controlling it all.
Another good example is my longest time girlfriend from 5 years old. She had two failed marriages and wanted to have another long term relationship. She wrote down exactly what she wanted and he showed up.
Thanks Sylviane I enjoyed this one and I do hope you are feeling better. Missed you today.
Sue
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Hi Sue,
Yes, thanks I am better today and I missed you too guys.
I’ve heard that so many times. When people write and visualize, and let the universe do it’s job, things do show up. It’s so simple, yet so few people do it at all. Maybe it’s too simple.
Thank you for sharing those interesting true life experiences.
Sylviane,
I can really relate to this post. I think the old saying “If you fail to plan then you plan to fail” is so true.
Planning is such an important part of everything we do.
I am producing a product and I have discovered that making the product was the easy part. Launching the product is the difficult part. It takes so much planning and work.Great post.
Dee Ann Rice
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Hi Dee Ann,
I agree with you, making the product is not the hard part, it’s planning for the launch and promotion that’s tough. I have a friend who wrote a book who is understanding all of this all too well now.
That’s why planning is half of the game, we can’t forsake the planning part.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Hi Sylviane. What a great post. First you tell the truth and make people face the reality of life. You can never get something for nothing. It just doesn’t happen. Next you break it down on why and best of all you talk about planning. It is still hard for me to plan what I do day to day even though I do my best at it. Probably ’cause I’m still holding down that day job too. But plan I must and I do know what I have to get done during the day so I still get that accomplished. Thanks for such an insightful article. Great tips. Thanks.
Barbara
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Hi Barbara,
I’m so glad you liked that post. I am post mined like 24/7 so everything I do or see is potential post idea. This one was, born when I watched this guy wasting his money on lottery tickets in a gas station 🙂
I have to admit that I am myself not the best at planning and it’s still a challenge, but I’m getting better and I better take my own advice, right?
Thank you for your input.
Sylviane, I agree with all your steps, especially knowing your weaknesses and strengths. Knowing if you have the ability to complete a task could save you a lot of headaches.
I think all plans should start off with a good plan, for example I am renovating my house and I planned the process so it did not cost me much money.
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Hi Michael,
Yes, indeed, a plan will save you time, money and your nerves as well. I’m glad you are making plans in your life.
Thank you for your feedback.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
Hi Sylviane,
That’s really a great post Sylviane.
I am a failure when it comes to planning especially with my business. As a mother I plan my day to day activities but when it comes to my business I don’t plan and I find it challenging.
I know it is important to make plans and analyze where I am today and where I want to be in 2 or 3 years from now but I just fail to do it. This post really inspired me and I have to start putting my plan together on a notebook like you suggested so it can push me forward in my business.
Thanks a lot Sylviane for the great tips you shared here and I am so happy with your plan to get your family house back.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
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Hi Neamat,
Yes, you should definitely get that note book and start jotting down some business plan. It’s really not hard to do, but I know that the hardest part is to start. Planning really help us accomplish more and better.
Thank you for coming and for sharing your thoughts.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
These are very crucial steps you have mentioned here. Planning is very important for each of our lives..Planning and making efforts towards it leave us with no regrets. Great words. Thanks.
I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Abhishek.
Thank you for coming.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..How To Plan For Your Success
Hi Syvianne,
I agree with your steps here to attract the things you want. The emotion is the key element in the vibrational field to help you get those things in your hands.
These are the elements explained in the book by Napolean Hill “Think and Grow Rich”
I have used this technique for many years and I am amazed at the power it has.
Thanks for this blog post.
Tonya
Tonya Stephens invites you to read..How To Write A Great Blog Post | 5 Key Elements
Hi Tonya,
Yes, the right emotion bring on the right vibration and that’s how we attract what we want.
Thanks for coming by.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..What Are The Benefits Of Spirituality?
great article about planning for success.Planning is very important for success .and all the points mention above are very helpful.thanxx for sharing such amazing Post
harish invites you to read..MLM Software Development
Hey Sylviane – planning is SO important for both personal and business success and you’ve hit it right on here. The key here is the first step. To find out where we are currently and then to get a clarity on where we want to go.
In the latter part, the more precise we get the easier it will be to plan a road map and get things done. I love these kinda posts 🙂
Jane invites you to read..People Have Asked Me These Questions Since I started My Online Business
Hi Jane,
How nice to see you here. Yes, we can’t really make plan unless we know exactly where we are now. And yes, the more specific the better the results.
Thank you for coming
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..What Are The Benefits Of Spirituality?