What is a Life Plan? There are many different answers, many different definitions. Basically, it is a plan to get from where you are now to where you want to be at some point in the future. Most people immediately think of money, I'm making x dollars now, five years from now I want to be making double XX amount of dollars. While the financial portion of a life plan is a part of it, it is not the only part. As said so many times before, "money is not going to buy you happiness". A Life Plan should take into account your family, friends, where you want to be living, really what do you want to be doing at this point in the future. That last line is the key. Ask yourself, what do I want to be doing five years from now. If you already know the answer to that question then your plan is easy. Break it down into the steps you need to get there. Then break those steps down into the finest detail, a daily detail if possible and you will reach your goal. The problem that most of us have is answering that question. I want to be rich, is not going to get you there. I want to be laying on a beach soaking up the sun. That's a little better, if that is truly your goal. There is beach front property available in places like Belize. You could buy a house, rent out half of it, and spend your days soaking up the sun. Actually that sounds pretty good, so if you do the research and it works out, let me know. Many people don't have a life plan because they can't answer that question. They don't have a clear idea of what they want to do. Well, life is going to happen whether you plan for it or not. Life will be there in the mirror every morning and five, ten, twenty years from now without some kind of plan, you could still be looking in the same mirror wondering what happened. OK, so what do you want to be doing five years from now? It doesn't matter how you answer. Just plug in anything close to something you enjoy or might enjoy. That answer is only a beginning, and is sure to change. As you start working toward it, you can branch off into other areas that you discover. A life plan is not a test, you can't fail. Some goals that you set may never be reached, but they will lead to other goals. Does that give us a new definition for a life plan? A Life Plan should be not only a plan to get from where you are, to where you want to be, but a totally flexible journey of discovery. Not to just achieve a goal, but to help determine what that goal may be. |
