Think About This

Today: Part FOUR of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning

"Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process and Help you Achieve Your Dreams"

You may have heard the expression, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Well, Rome wasn't built on accident, either. The coliseum, the pantheon, Saint Peter's basilica... these architectural marvels weren't the offspring of happenstance. They were created only after architects had spent countless hours developing blueprints of the buildings' foundations and structural frameworks.

A blueprint, as the outline of the building plan, is a vitally important document. Even so, the blueprint only represents a small step in the planning process. Before a building can be constructed, its planners must also budget expenses, consider what raw materials to use, and determine how to recruit labor. A good building plan starts with a blueprint, but extends far beyond it.

Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process and Help you Achieve Your Dreams

It's hard to achieve anything consequential without a written plan. However, putting a plan on paper isn't enough. Regardless of how thorough, concrete, or ingenious a plan may be, it won't happen unless additional ingredients are injected into the planning process. In my experience, I've observed seven principles that are absolutely critical to successful planning.

1) The Principle of Passion

When we're passionless, we procrastinate on the plan or burnout trying to execute it. With passion, we approach our plans with excitement and a sense of urgency. Passion gives planning energy.

Passion also gives planning focus. As Tim Redmond says, "There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a few things that will catch my heart. It is those I consider to pursue." Passion narrows our vision so that the plan dominates our attention and distractions fade into the background.

Tomorrow: Part FIVE of SIX: More of the "Seven Principles"