Before engaging in any undertaking, it pays to be prepared.  It pays to have a plan and a subsequent alternate plan in case of contingencies.

On the other hand, too much planning can lead to paralysis and inaction.  There is a balance somewhere in the middle and it’s what you need to find.

In order to plan properly, you need to familiarize yourself with what you’re planning about.  If you’re gonna drive a car for the first time, it’s a little silly to make plans. You can read all the books you want and ask everyone all sorts of questions but you can never be fully prepared.  You don’t know how you will react when the engine conks out or when another car cuts your lane.  Is your instinctive reaction one of panic or embarassment or calmness?  The best thing to do is to get the first time over with and just take the plunge.

In order to make a good plan, you need to have a map.  This map represents the territory of the experience.  In order to build a map, you need sensual experience.  Sure, you can get information from books or other sources but when you depend on that, you create a map based from your understanding of other people’s explanation of their own maps.  It’s watered down data that you can’t even relate with because you have never been in a similar situation.

There are only two things I prepare myself for when doing something for the first time:

1. Make sure I don’t die
2. Make sure nobody else gets hurt

With those two things clearly resolved in my mind, I take the plunge.

When you make a plan without a sensible map of the experience, you’ll find yourself faced with too many questions and no answers whatsoever.  You can look towards other people’s answers, but you can never relate them to yourself.

Sometimes, we plan too much out of fear.  Doing something for the first time is a scary proposition.  Planning can make you feel better because you’re involving yourself with something about the experience.  The downside is you waste all this time in your head while the experience is out there waiting for you.

If you notice this behavior in yourself about anything you’re looking at doing, whether going into business or dating again after a divorce, try putting the planning on a halt and take baby steps instead.  What’s the smallest step available towards your goal?  Do that now.  Every small step you take creates a clearer map, allowing you a better view towards your next step.

Take the plunge.

Technorati Tags: planning, first time

If you’re convinced that you need to continue your education and keep learning new things to add to and complement your present skillsets, the next step is to determine in which areas you want to further your education. Since you can only focus on a limited number of things at any time period, it’s important that you choose wisely. Generally, I would look for things that:

• Will solve an existing problem
• Bridges an existing gap in one of my present skills
• Can improve my existing income streams
• Can save me either money or time in the long-term
• Will improve one of these areas of my life: finances, health, and relationships.

Once I identify those things that meet the above criteria, I use my next and most important filter:

• Will I enjoy doing this?

The way I see it, I’m an adult now and the days of studying things for the sake of studying them like we did in school is over and done with. Anything that doesn’t add value to my present moment experience is a huge step back in the wrong direction. More importantly, learning just comes many times easier when you can actually enjoy the process.

After this is taken care of, I can start prioritizing which ones to focus on first. This is determined by the following criteria, in order of importance:

• Long-term impact. How valuable is this in the long term? How much money will this potentially make me? How much time do I stand to gain from this? How much improvement will I expect this to create in my relationships? How much more comfort and peace of mind will this bring?
• Time required. How long will it take me to learn?
• Urgency. Is this something I am in dire need of at the moment? Or is this something I can afford to not to learn for now?
• Short-term gain. What do I stand to gain from this as soon as I learn it? What results await me a month after I learn and implement this?

I always make sure to focus on items that will make the biggest long-term impact because these are the ones that will serve me years beyond its immediate value. For example, those writing courses back in high school continue to serve me to this day in my technical consulting duties. I write the clearest damn technical explanations for programming solutions my clients can ever wish for.

Time required is also a big concern. If something will take me five years to learn then chances are big that I will pass it up for other, shorter studies. While urgency plays a factor, I’ve never really encountered it so much. Anything that appears you will need to learn right now, you can always hire someone else to take care of while you focus your attention on things with greater future relevance. I put short-term gain at last because learning something for a quick fix right now without any foreseeable future gain is plain short-sighted and not the best use of time and resources.

Generally, I like to learn things focused on three areas:

• Software Skills
• Social Skills
• Online income

I’ve found these three things to be the most beneficial and enjoyable for myself. In doing so, I’ve had to marginalize learning on other areas I like and have dabbled in as well (like martial arts and competitive shooting) largely because the former provide the biggest long term benefit for me. Likewise, I have totally ignored other things I have fancied learning in the past like flying planes or playing a stand-up bass.

I have many more years of learning and in time, I may get to attend to them all, but for now, my focus is laying the pipeline for the rest of my life and efficiently managing continued education will help me in that process just as it can help you in your own future goals.

Technorati Tags: learning, new skills, choosing

Sometimes things just don’t work out.

It’s hard to wrap one’s head around it. You defined your goals clearly. You planned your steps. You executed well. You pushed through trials. You finished every activity you scheduled. But the results don’t measure up.

You come up with possible reasons for the failure:

• Did I set the wrong goals?
• Was my plan too weak?
• Did I give it my all?
• Was I too inflexible?
• Did I miss opportunities?

It’s hard to look at the fruit of your labour when it’s only a fraction of what you always thought you were working for. Even harder when it’s a total bust.

When it’s a total bust, people will tend to go with cliches: “I don’t fail, I only learn one more thing that doesn’t work.” It hurts just the same.

It’s a reframe that’s hard to swallow, especially for longer-term outcomes that eat up 3 to 6 months (or more) of your life.

When I fail, my first instinct is to shrug. It’s like I’m on TV and people just watched me fuck up so I shrug my shoulders and peep, “What’s a guy to do?” Of course, nobody’s watching. People don’t really seem to give a shit when you fail. It’s not that society doesn’t care for losers, it’s actually easier for people to accept you when you’re mediocre. It’s just that you’re ordinary. You’re just like everybody else - all potential, no commercial.

My next instinct is to have fun. I’ll go hang with friends, get drunk, stay up till morning and do goofy things. Next day, I’ll either feel great or have a crazy headache. It doesn’t mean anything, just thought I’d mention it.

I suggest the same for everyone. When your chips are down, have fun. You don’t have to drink and be stupid to do it. Just celebrate the same way you’d celebrate if you didn’t mess up. In a nutshell, I recommend staying happy whatever your outcome, life is too short.

AFTER THE HAZE

After coming to terms with the failure, it’s time to regroup.

I usually draw a journal of what happened and separate relevant items into two: (1) Things that worked and (2) Things that didn’t work. Allot some time, including a couple of days, to let everything you write sink in.

Then I set a new goal and build the plan structure from the things that did work. While I do keep the things that didn’t work in mind, I found it wrong to draw up a schedule with the intention of avoiding the wrong things. You tend to plan differently when you’re starting from what works compared to when you’re starting from what doesn’t.

Building plans from a perspective of what doesn’t work will just cloud your optimism and increase the likelihood that you’ll give up without making an effort.

Make sure the goal and the plan accomplishes these minimum requirements:

(1) They are built from a foundation of what works

(2) They are aligned with your values

(3) They excite you

Working from those three items give you a better chance of accomplishing your results. Starting from what works usually lead you to further things that work even better; setting things that align with your values will make sure you avoid internal emotional conflict that can make your execution harder; and being excited, joyful and happy working towards something is the most ideal state you can be in towards manifesting the results you aim for.

Technorati Tags: Goals, Failure, Success