Dream like a child, Win like a champion
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” - Stephen A. Brennan
Almost everyone has dreams, these are the big lofty things they desire from their life. The sad reality is that most dreams are never fully realised. The ability to dream big is certainly an admirable quality, for the dream is the precursor to a goal and a goal the precursor to a plan. A man (or woman) with a plan is a dangerous thing, not only have they expressed a level of creativeness to dream something up, but they have been able to articulate what it looks like in the form of a goal and from there they have a well thought out plan that lists the action steps required and the order in which they need to be achieved.
Have you ever encountered someone that fills you with the utmost confidence that they will be successful in whatever endeavour they are chasing? That feeling comes from you buying into their plan, just as much as their dream. I remember a time where a friend was sharing with me his ambitions to take up mountaineering and get after some “once in a lifetime” climbs. Now I’m sure he’s not the first to have those kinds of dreams for their life. But what gave me confidence in that dream becoming a reality, was the detail and depth at which he was able to articulate the plan to me. He touched on the need for experience being critical and how he was building that experience on a number of smaller peaks, in order to be successful and these smaller climbs to truly be worthwhile in building the required skill sets that would take him to the peaks of his dreams, there was a very deliberate training plan involved, the climbs were very deliberately scheduled at particular intervals to ensure recovery and sufficient time to train and best prepare for the next.
He excitedly rattled off dates in the future that stretched on for the next 4 years. He had almost every month scheduled and accounted for, he knew what needed to be done. It was so ordered and structured that it was almost a matter of fact, baring a tragic accident that was going to happen. I now see regular updates on social media as he methodically knocks off the peaks in his hit list, each one bringing him closer to the big goal.
This highlights the value and importance of planning, and I feel that this is the number 1 thing that prevents most people from achieving everything they want in life. Everyone has dreams, smart people have goals, and successful people have plans.
