LIFE PLANNING 101

I have spent my career (and life) in management or supervision in one form or another, and in the course of counseling the many employees under my charge, have boiled down my personal philosophy for living down to four basic questions. I think if the young people of today truly put some time into these questions, they might just see the big picture that will unlock their futures.

1. Who are you?
2. Who do you want to be?
3. How will you get there?
4. What mark do you want to leave on the world?

Who are you? Be honest with yourself, if with no other. Truly who are you? Write it down. The beauty, the scars, the hurts and the fears. Take a personal inventory. Write it down. This is the embarking point for your journey called life. You in no way are stuck here. It really doesn't matter where you start, it's where you are when you quit that matters.

Who do you want to be? Not only what you want to be, or what you want to do, or what you want to own, but who do you want to be? If you are lucky, you have some good role models in your life to emulate. But be your own self, be the best YOU you can possibly be. What, and who you are right now is not the end of it. You can improve and aspire, and change. The only people who are the sum total of their finished personal devlopement and growth, and ultimately, their realistic full potential, are those who have quit. Those who gave up. Those who stopped dreaming and yearning, and those who have allowed themselves to grow cynical. Those who stopped believing that with effort and a modicum of planning, dreams can come true at any age.

How will you get there? Chart a specific course. Very specific. Write it down. Winners plan, and make things happen. Lesser achievers sit back and allow things to happen. Losers wonder what happened. Create a personal road map to guide you along the way. List the people who can help you, the resources you can utilize, the places you need to be, and the education you will need to be ready for the opportunity. This is a living document; amend, delete, add to, and improve it as you grow in maturity and wisdom. There are many paths in life that will take you through your journey. You must keep referring to your map and chart your progress, and look at the direction you are header. Sometimes you might half to take a step back or two, to go forward in the right direction, and that's OK. It's not where you are, it's where you are going that matters.

There it is. Simplistic yes, but effective as a first step for any young person to begin to begin to decipher who they will fit in, or lead, or be in life. A quick, motivational tool that can be used at nearly any age. I will stop here. I have had my employees create personal philosophies, and business credos to help their self awareness; but for now, just four simple, yet complex life questions.

Be sure to put it on paper, and reread it over and over. Say it out loud. And believe. Believe, and aspire, and reach for the heavens.....and never, ever, give up. Dreams do come true, once you stop dreaming, and start doing.