Daily Reading - Allen James' Daily Guide to Success series - "The Journey: A Calendar Book"

Calendar Books by Allen James reading for May 22nd from "The Journey: A Calendar Book"....Develop a good plan and follow the course".

Personal success is the result of determination, stamina, vision, and perseverance. Having a commitment to your dreams, not just dreaming, but desiring the dream you have and wanting it to become your reality bad enough you make it your reality. How do we do this? We start by developing a plan which assures us of our dream's ability to become "real".

Some dreams are best to remain dreams, while other dreams are meant to be lived. It is up to us to determine which is which. Development of a plan takes time and clarity.

I'm a planner. I enjoy setting out the steps, sketching out a timeline, and then filling in the middle. Usually I rush into it from this point due to my impatience; not a good idea. It's always best to take your time and do it "right".

Whether you're ready to make a big change in your life, start a new career, begin a new relationship, or you know the time is perfect to go after your life dream; quite often fear is what is preventing you from moving at all. Starting out with a plan first alleviates much of this fear.

1. Take some time to think about what you really want, but more importantly why you want it. There are no wrong or right reasons for having a desire, but knowing what your reasons are can help you navigate the inevitable roadblocks and make decisions.

2. Have a contingency plan. In many cases, particularly if you're considering a career change or following a big dream, this is going to be a financial plan. How are you going to support yourself until you can get your plan up and running? And if you can't commit to your goal while maintaining your current job, how are you going to make enough money to keep you going while you enact your plan.

3. Break down your plan into smaller steps. Start with big milestones and then break down the steps you'll need to meet them. Evaluating progress regularly helps keep us on track.

4. Be flexible. "The best laid plans..." as the saying goes. Things happen, realizations strike, and goals change. Just because you've made a beautiful plan doesn't mean you have to see it through, no matter what. Be honest with yourself. If things aren't working out the way you expected, it's okay to change the plan. It's your plan after all.

5. Be patient. Trust your plan, trust it will unfold in its own time, and trust a little patience now could save much pain later (Manterfield).

So, what are you waiting for? It costs nothing to make a plan. And once you break it down into small steps, you may just find launching your plan is not nearly as painful as you'd thought.

Keep looking up. : ) AJ