Dwight Eisenhower once said that “The plan is useless, but planning is essential.” These are words to live by. No amount of flashy fancily formatted business plans can make a bad strategy viable. You need to realistically assess your resources, forecast conservatively, and take worst-case scenarios into account while you make plans for the future. Start with the next month, as looking too far ahead can be destructive. As you start to see your plans coming to fruition, expand your timeframe. The most important lesson here is don’t get too far ahead of yourself and avoid acting based on assumptions which may not come true.
Remember that your dreams and ambitions are separate entities from your plan. Dream big and reach for the sky, but plan for the second floor. You can’t get to the top without starting in the lobby.
