I’m a huge fan of strategic planning, both professionally and personally.
I firmly believe that even the slightest bit of forethought attracts the opportunities I seek.
That being said, here are 10 of my favorite go-to quotes on planning and preparation.
Please read them. Sit with them. Absorb them. Allow these quotes to permeate how you feel about the planning process. If they fit, keep them. They are yours. If they don’t fit, get rid of them and move on.
Here goes.
➀ Planning Is Key To Success
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!
One of the hardest things for most small business owners to do is to sit down and formulate a formal game plan to manifest their vision. Their impatience in achieving that vision often causes them to forego the critical planning process and jump right into implementation.
BIG mistake!
As Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) also said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
In other words, a little advanced planning goes a long way.
➁ The Power Of The Planning Process
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.
As said another way by the former U.S President, “Plans are nothing… planning is everything.“
It’s that planning process that forces you to think. That critical thinking process is what truly prepares you for whatever may come your way.
So when push comes to shove and time is of the essence, you can spring into targeted action without delay.
➂ When It's Written, It's Real
Every well built house started in the form of a definite purpose plus a definite plan in the nature of a set of blueprints.
Many things happen when we write things down.
For one, it assists in informing and empowering stakeholders to help. They become much more effective if they genuinely innerstand the plan.
Additionally, something significant happens when you write stuff down. The writing process stimulates a part of your brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS filters out the clutter and empowers you to focus on what matters.
Pretty cool, hah?!
➃ Perfectionism, The Dream Killer
A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
Or, as General Patton also said, “A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
He is so right!
I’ve witnessed so many small business coaching Clients experience paralysis by analysis by overthinking in an attempt to get the plan just right.
➄ Someone Else's Plan
If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
It’s pretty simple; either you have your own plan, or you’ll likely be part of helping someone else work theirs.
That’s all fun and good so long as you get what you want as part of the process. For example, a paycheck that can be used to fund your vision.
If not, you’ve just made someone else’s vision a reality. As for yours, that’ll likely have to go on hold until you are ready to create your own plan to accomplish whatever it is you want.
➅ A Proper Plan Is An Evolving Playbook
A well designed plan is dynamic... an evolving playbook.
Yes, I’m aware that this quote is one of mine (and The MINDstretch co-author’s, of course). However, I used it here because it happens to get my point across the best.
Anyway, planning your vision should never be a set it and forget it process.
Your plan should be dynamic. It should evolve over time.
Why?
Because nothing in the world of business stands still. Including you.
Unexpected events can and will happen. Even the best-laid plans are rarely bulletproof.
Allowing your plan to have flexibility and room for growth is key.
➆ Creating Your Own Luck
Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.
Let’s be clear. There is no shortage of abundance; only our perception that there is a shortage.
If you believe there’s a shortage, you’re right; Unfortunately, it is likely what you will attract.
On the contrary, if you have an abundance mindset and believe there is always plenty, you’re right. It is likely what you will attract.
Have you ever noticed that when you are ready for something, it shows up?
How about when you are not ready? You don’t even see it. Meanwhile, it was there all along.
When you go through the planning process, you are mentally preparing yourself and attracting what it is toward you. This is the Law of Attraction coming into play here.
Believe this or don’t. It is your choice. For me, I choose not to fight Universal Law.
How about you?
➇ Planning As A Daily Ritual
If you employed study, thinking, and planning time daily, you could develop and use the power that can change the course of your destiny.
The more you exercise your ability to think critically, the better you get at thinking.
The more you exercise your ability to plan strategically, the better you get at planning.
Practice makes perfect — well, at least it makes things way more effortless and effective.
What I’ve found to be the most effective for me (as well as many small business owners I’ve coached over the years) is to engage in thinking and planning every day.
I know—you’re thinking, who the heck has time for that? I have a business to run. Payroll to make. Yada yada yada.
I get it. Remember, I’m a small business owner too.
Here’s what I do.
I formalize the process by setting an hour-long recurring daily appointment with myself. It’s on my calendar for the same time every day. This way, it doesn’t get overlooked. I call this appointment “Prime Time” because it amplifies my ability to make shit happen each day. I get a lot more done using a lot less effort this way. Time is my most precious asset.
If achieving your vision is important to you too, the best I can tell you is to make the time!
➈ Commit To Your Vision
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes... but no plans.
So, are you genuinely committed to your company vision?
Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make it so?
Before you answer that, take a moment. Think it through. Are your actions each day congruent with what you say you want?
If not, why not? Are you faithful to that vision? Is it what you really want, or is it what you believe is expected of you?
Hmmm — tough one.
Drucker is right. You’ll know you are committed once you start formulating that plan. That plan takes a pipedream and lays out a path to victory.
➉ Own Your Tomorrow
For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.
This is one of my favorite quotes on planning. It really bookends our opening quote from Benjamin Franklin as well.
You want to have more? Do more.
Want to do more? Become more.
Want to become more? Set your intention and lay out a proper game plan for doing so.
Don’t be a proverbial Monday-morning quarterback. No more would’ve — could’ve — should’ve.
Make that plan and get into massive action. Own your tomorrow!
Wrapping Up The Best 10 Quotes on Planning
Pretty cool stuff here, hah?!
Resonate with any of these quotes on planning? Does any of the commentary light you up or piss you off?
Either way, GOOD, we’re stirring emotions! Emotions are a conduit to action. Nothing happens until something moves!
So in closing, I have a minor homework assignment for you. First, pick the quote that resonated with (or scared) you the most. Then, grab a pen and paper. Go somewhere quiet where you can focus. Now ponder the quote. Take as long as you need — I recommend 10 minutes or so.
Understand the planning quote — dissect it. Then, think of ways to apply it.
When done, jot down the one thing you will do in the next 15 minutes to implement your thoughts.
There is gold here — go for it!
Are you having trouble getting going here? Would you like some help with that? Let’s talk.
Here’s to your success!
10 Powerful Company Vision Quotes You Need To Know
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
