Most leaders I come across, as individuals, are busy planning their next event in their lives like a vacation or party. Their next big purchase – maybe a car or the latest big screen TV. They are fantastic at planning for the short term.
And that same group usually doesn’t have a life plan. Most don’t know where they want to go or what needs to go into their development in order to get there. It’s like they’re going to one unexpected event after another. They’re almost saying, “I have no control over my life!”
This same mentality is prevalent in young couples as well who coo over their upcoming wedding. They talk about the dress, the church, the reception and party… All the details of that one day in their lives. Very few ever talk about their marriage. It’s as if getting through the planning and organizing of their big day, will somehow lead to living happily ever after. Wow! No wonder more than 50% of all marriages end up in divorce.
It’s a powerful lesson. So I ask you to look in the mirror and ask yourself, are you planning a wedding or a marriage with your own personal life. Have you got goals around your career, your personal life, your education, your finances, and your health? Bravo if you do have a plan! And how often do you look at it? I recommend a monthly review of your goals month-by-month, as well as a weekly review for an even smaller bite-sized weekly plan.
If you are able to build the discipline to do this simple exercise, you will be within the elite 3% of all people on this planet that have a life plan. You will be planning a marriage and not a wedding. I find it interesting as well that the 3% of business leaders with a personal life plan have more personal wealth than the rest of the 97% put together, according to Harvard University.
Seize the day to create an even better life starting today.