Every one of us has a dream. Believe it or not, this is mine. Early on, I distinguished myself as a speaker and trainer. I also developed a passion for how people who become leaders, how groups work together, and how people grow. Combining those two into what I do now creates that perfect avenue for me. Am I totally there? No, but I am moving forward in that direction.
What about you? What’s your dream? What’s that thing you have always wanted to be or always wanted to do? What’s the thing that keeps you up at night with a vision of how things will be when you get there? Even more to the point, what are doing to get there? Do you have a plan in place? 
If you are like most people you are saying “Oh, yeah, I got it all right up here up in my head!” Unfortunately, that almost never works. You need to get it down on paper. A plan on paper has a higher level of commitment to it that just keeping it in your mind doesn’t have. In addition, putting your plan down in print (or web) gives you the opportunity to sort it out and arrange it. Your plan has more than just an idea, it has structure and a timeline and deadlines. Without that plan you are going to have a very hard time getting to where you want to go. Yeah, you are special and maybe you are that one in a million that will actually do it; but do you want to risk your dream on the extremely remote chance that you might become successful without a written plan?
The funny, almost ironic thing about it is that you will likely not reach that goal following that plan precisely. Things get in the way that make plans change. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said “plans are useless, but planning is essential!” So the plan changes, but your decision to get there never does. So your plan is going to change, it’s going to evolve. But it’s a start. So, you have to get that plan down on paper (or on the computer).
So how do you get there? How do you get that plan down on paper and get yourself that good start? Start by thinking backwards. Look forward to about 2-5 years from now. Where do you want to be, what do you want be, what do you want to be doing? Now backtrack from that. Where should you be four years from now to be on track. Three years from now? Two years from now? Within the next year? Backtrack all the way. And when you get down to a granular level, then you are looking at what you have to do on a weekly and daily basis to reach your goal. John Maxwell says that your real success will be found in your daily activities. Plan your daily activities to be working towards your goals and accept nothing less. And that’s how you plan out your success.
