MAP-PLANNING
FOR SUCCESS
“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go?” That depends a-good-deal on where you want to get to”. “I don’t much care where...So as long as I get there!” “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go...You are sure to do that!”
That’s the famous lines from that great book, Alice In Wonderland. When Alice asks Cheshire-puss where to go, but this is also a very familiar feeling for most people, as they too have no idea where they are going.
I don’t much care where...So as long as I get there! For most people, that’s déjà vu. Why? Sadly because that is what most people are thinking, they don’t know where they are going or bothered to how they will get there.
To achieve anything in life, whether it is a dream, desire or to achieve something, you first must have an idea of where you are right now, how you want to get there and to where it is that you want to get to. Simple! But is it? Why is it then that so many people fail to do such a simple task?
People sometimes find this task a little difficult, challenging, confronting, confusing and even frightening. Plans hold people to account, it holds them to a promise, and people find this challenging. People feel that if they don’t achieve their goals then they are a failure, as they don’t want to be seen as a failure, they just don’t bother. They have the attitude that if they don’t have a target to aim for, then they can’t miss! How true, but that’s a losing attitude.
To succeed in anything we need a winning attitude, an open mind and to be flexible, ready for change and modification.
What Is Map-Planning?
Planning: Is to make arrangements for something in advance. Formulating a number of specific duties and procedures to establish or achieve something. A plan is very defined as to what is needed, where you need to be and how you will get there, it is a step by step process of your journey. Planning is a proven method for achieving success.
Mapping: Represents features of an area of some kind, showing the direction from one location to another and its obstacles in-between. A map is less defined as to how you will get to your location, as it shows a wider area with the locations and obstacles. It means you could go whichever way, but by regularly reviewing your map you won’t get lost. So you could go the direct way or a long way around but still knowing where you are at all times. Doesn’t that sound better. A Map is a proven method for finding your way to your location. But you still need to make arrangements and specific duties needing to be established before setting off
Map-planning: The design and guide for the future. It’s the development and the process of successful steps to your desired or intended results. Decision making and problem-solving with the experience, knowledge, and skill to identify opportunities and unveil the risks involved in while carting your course into an unknown future.
For the best way to get somewhere without feeling overwhelmed, we should use both a map and a plan. That way we have the best of both worlds. We will be prepared for anything and won’t get lost on our way if unforeseen obstacles divert us from our goal.
The Chinese philosopher, poet, and writer Lao Tzu’s the founder of philosophical Taoism once wrote: “A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.” Now a common saying that originated from his famous proverb. How true this is, we can’t walk anywhere without first taking our first step, or movement in some case nowadays as we don’t always walk.
The benefits of map-planning will give you vision, clarity, drive, direction, flexibility, curiosity and confidence, it will stimulate and encourage growth, helps us to establish clear goals, tasks, and objectives, it helps us to anticipate, reveal and avoid obstacles, it measure our progress and performance and ensures success.
The results of not map-planning are just the opposite, Unable to see where you are going, confused, no motivation, tied in one location, and have no confidence. Stuck not knowing which way to go, won’t see the obstacle or roadblocks, unable to see your progress, and ensures success but in failure.
Having the wrong attitude will only hold people back, they will use every excuse like; There's too much work involved or too time-consuming, its not worth it, don’t understand the process, has no value, prefer luck, or its just too confronting, don’t like trying new things, fearing the unknown, unsure and uncomfortable, don’t like venturing into unfamiliar territory.
‘The problem is...’ as Johnny Wimbrey (Success coach and trainer) puts it…“If you do what you have always done, then you will always get what you have always got.”
Make a commitment by sharing your commitments with other positive people you know, your spouse, siblings, work colleagues, friends, mentors or others your trust and respect, but not those doubters or those negative people who always put you and others down for trying something different, they are not the ones you want to talk to. But share your commitments, goals and aims with other positive people you know that will help and hold you to account and to share your enthusiasm and give you support and strength to continue to achieve your goals.
Developing Goals and Objectives
Goals and Objectives are the foundations of planning and the steps to success. Goals are broad, long term aims that you really want and are willing to work for, and the objectives are clear concise with specific time periods and measurably. They should be realistic, attainable, challenging but measurable. They should also be specific as possible without being too restrictive.
Setting a specific and clear time goal helps you to stay accountable and able to measure your results clearly. It helps to identify the major steps to take to reach your goals. Keep your steps small and achievable. Make your plan easy and clear to follow, so you know where you’ve been and where you are going. By having many smaller successful steps you will have more control over your planning process.
Visualizing Success.
Picture in your mind where you want to be by a certain time.
Visualize your success and achievements, imagine how you feel, what you do, have and see once you are where you want to be. Be specific how much you want to earn, how much weight you want to lose, where you want to live, what size house with everything you want around you. The more specific you are the better chance you have of attaining it because you know exactly what you want.
It is not easy to visualize the future, but the key to successfully visualizing is in the intensity of your vision and the depth of description and how focused you are for the future.
Top professional sports players are well reheard in the use and success of visualization techniques, it’s sometimes also called dynamic imaging. It’s when a visualize golfer visualizes their swing before taking the shoot, the snooker player visualizes themselves potting the ball before taking the shoot, or the sprinter visualizes themselves springing away from the others and crossing the line first before the race begins. But it’s not just before they take that shoot or start the race, they need to visualize a day in and day out while they are training for many weeks, months or years before they compete.
By enhancing your vision with all your sense, taste, smell, see, hear, touch and emotionally feel your goals and achievements making them real in your mind will enhance your ability to make them come true, as you already believe they are already achieved. This will give you extra confidence and enhanced your power to achieve what is already achieved in your mind.
Pacing yourself with successful habits.
The only place that SUCCESS comes before WORK is in the dictionary, never in real life. By working on something every day towards your goal, you will be heading in the right direction. Think of it as a marathon, you will need to maintain a consistent level of constancy to finish the race and achieve the results you require. It’s an investment, just as if it was a real bank, you can only take out what you put in! So is your future, you can’t expect to be a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist if you don’t put the time and effort into studying and training would you? NO! So you can only achieve your goals if you put the time and effort in the first place.
Success and failure are just habits, remember Johnny Wimbrey’s saying earlier, “If you do what you have always done, then you will always get what you have always got.” Whether we succeed or fail it’s because we have sustained a set of habits that control our behavior and ethics. If we have bad work ethics and habits then we will only get bad results or vice-versa.
Being flexible.
We need to be very specific and detailed to put together a successful plan but we also need to be reasonably flexible too. When following a map you will see that there will be many obstacles that you will need to go around, living rivers and mountains, etc. Even when they are not on the map we need to be flexible. If you are traveling to work and if there was a tree fallen in our way or an accident blocking the road or road works with miles of tailback holding you up, what would you do? Most probably take an alternative route. So being reasonably flexible will allow you to take alternative routes to your destination without giving up and turning back.
Being able to recognize any problems that may occur along the way that could cause any delays or a permanent stop, and knowing how to avoid them would be of great value to any and every business.
So having a well thought out and detailed plan will help to spot any challenges and help to allocate resources to any future problems that might occur while on your journey. Plan for the worst and plan for problems that you hope you will never have to deal with.
Be ready to act, if you are not ready when the time is right you could miss out, so plan for everything good and bad. Also be ready to open that door when it knocks, when opportunity knocks don’t ignore it, plan for it. Try new things out, don’t just sit there hoping and wishing for a magic gene as you are your own gene, you hold your future in your hands, nobody else does. If you don’t give things a try, you will never know if they work, will you?
Ready for Action
When Charles Kettering of General Motors was asked why he spent so much time on planning, he replied, “My interest is in the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”
We too will be spending the rest of our life in the future, so it makes sense to have a good one. So why not have a good plan?
Once you have a good plan in place and are ready to go, decide what is the most important part that you need to work on first and take that first important step. Then keep taking small but consistent steps each and every day. Know and organize your task around realistic time-scales. Develop a habit of using your plan until it becomes automatic. Start with simple day-to-day goals.
Don’t leave your plan to chance. If you are missing the right skills, expertise to carry out your plan then you need to set aside time to achieve them or find someone to help you with them. Know what kind of help you need and when you need it, be fully prepared. Delegate what you need to, don’t leave everything to do yourself, give non-important tasks or task that you are unable to achieve yourself to others, Delegate those tasks with complete authority to people who you know and trust to complete, don’t interfere but just keep them accountable.
Your plan should be very simple to follow, well organized and easy to understand. Task’s and activities should be well defined with a realistic and attainable timetable. Make it easy for others to follow your directions. Make sure you have the correct tools and team in place.
MJ
© Copyright 2016 MJ Marketing Madness
