Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan

Plan your work and work your plan.”

I think I first heard those words almost twenty five years ago. I was involved in the Amway business and basic principles of success were constantly taught as a way of helping you see beyond the reality of your current existence. Amway and other multi-level market organizations were often cited as income opportunities that could enable one to get beyond their “personal matrix” or maze. Remember, the maze or “rut” you may think you are in is simply a condition of your mind. This may sound like an oversimplification. But, you can not change the condition of anything, including getting out of the maze, until you change the state of your thinking. Thinking you will never get out of the maze will doom you to live in the maze eternally.

The mantras used to remind people to be motivated were essential tools in the transformation of one’s mind from one of failure – “Will I ever get out of the maze?” to one of success – “What maze?”. Mantras like “fake it until you can make it”, “receive it and believe it and you can achieve it”, or “winners never quit and quitters never win” were nice sound bites of philosophy that had much deeper meaning. “Plan your work and work your plan” is like that. Several things should be pointed out as this simple but powerful phrase is broken down.

First, the statement assumes a PLAN is in place. Do you currently have a plan? What is involved in having a plan? Have you set goals and put measureable milestones to those goals? Are the goals realistic? In other words, have you prepared or intend to prepare in terms of cultivating skills, talents, and abilities to meet those goals? Are you willing to put in the effort (i.e. work hard) to achieve the goals?

Second, the statement assumes the plan is YOUR plan. Have you taken ownership of the goal? Do you understand WHY the goal is important to you? Are you pursuing something you are truly passionate about or have you decided to do something out of convenience or at the bequest of someone else? Is it truly YOUR plan?

Third, the statement assumes you will WORK. Nothing has ever been accomplished by dreaming and leaving it in the dream state. The dream eventually has to equate to action. Have you taken your dream and started on the road (even if you are taking baby steps) to the fulfillment of those dreams? If you have not started the work, how will the goal ever be accomplished? When you look at the statement in its entirety, “Plan your work and work your plan” is about you making the most out of your time, talent, and ability. I will borrow a very simple plan of success from a dear friend and brother, who also happens to be my cousin.

Start where you are.

Use what you have.

Do what you can.

And, don’t quit.

If you follow these simple rules, you will have a basic formula for success in all of your endeavors and the reality of being confined to the maze will be a distant memory.

“Plan your work and work your plan.”