Are you planning for success with your business?
You would think that every business begins with the idea of success. Some just have an idea for a business, or a creative name, or an end goal. You need to be planning for success to make it happen.
Have you created a plan for your business?
Every business needs a plan. A plan is your map to the success you imagine.
Have you wondered if your plan is holding you back?
A plan needs to be flexible if it’s going to propel you forward.
Have you considered if the plan and the planning are two different steps?
You need a plan, but you also have to walk out your planning or the plan is just markings on the paper. A plan won’t get you to your success on its own. You have to be intentionally invested in bring your plan to life. You have to actively be stepping into the planning to make it happen.
“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Plans Can Interfere with Planning for Success
Several years ago, a friend introduced me to bullet journals. According to her, they were life-changing. You could keep up with everything, all conveniently organized in one journal.
As I looked over her bullet journey, I longed to have the focus and organization she promised the bullet journal would provide.
Over the next several days, I invested time searching for more information about bullet journals and how to best utilize them for different purposes. I needed some way to organize the homeschooling details, the household chores, my FIL’s appointments and dietary needs, and my writing.
I expected a LOT out of a tiny journal, but my friend had promised that the bullet journal would change my life. I needed to believe that compact, paper organization could be achieved.
I purchased my journal and got to work. I made it one week before I came to the realization that I was investing more time filling out my bullet journal each day than I was actually completing the items in the bullet journal.
It might have been perfect for my friend, but for me, it was a time and energy suck, nothing more.
A great plan doesn’t do anything for you if you don’t have the way (or the will) to implement the required actions. I burned out on the actions required to keep up the bullet journey. There were some days that I simply forgot to go through the steps necessary to keep it up.
It didn’t work for me even though it worked for my friend.
You have to have a plan, but you have to have a plan that you will be invested in or you’ll be so busy with much doing you won’t have time to grow your success.

Why is planning important for success?
A plan is important for success because it tells you where you want to go and how you want to get there. Without a plan, you repeat actions, waste resources, or wander around lost. None of those will help you reach your goals. Your success will be aligned with your goal fulfillment.
1. Planning puts you in a position to reach your goals
When you take the time to write down a plan, you begin to mentally see the possibilities the plan is engaging. The more you think about it, the more you begin to believe it. When you believe in what you are pursuing, then you are in a better position to make it real.
2. Planning allows you to see your weaknesses
When you make a plan, the details reveal the pain points. You’ll understand better where you need to shore up your plan (either by more learning, more resources, or more connections). When you know your weaknesses, you can set a foundation for your plan on your strengths.
3. Planning helps you measure your progress
When you set a plan, you’ll need to review the plan. As you review, you begin to see how you are making progress (or why you’re not making progress). Your plan gives you goalposts to measure your success progress.
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What is the Difference Between a Plan and Planning?
You need more than a plan to reach success. A plan is simply the map. It shows you where you are and points you to where you want to go. A plan is locked into its written format.
Planning is the actionable part of the plan. It is when you get in your car and start the trip. It is the first step (and then the second and the third) of the marathon. The planning is the execution of your goals and is flexible to the moments and the circumstances of the journey. Make a plan, but let your planning be flexible enough to deal with the unexpected moments.
The difference between the plan and the planning is the flexibility of execution. You have to understand that the plan is for guidance and the planning is the actions you take (within the parameters of the plan) but not locked into the exact details of the plan. Instead, your planning twists, turns, and bends with the circumstances you face.
Make a plan, but let your planning be flexible enough to deal with the unexpected moments.
Does Planning Make You More Successful?
Planning will make you more successful when you make the choices to continue to walk out your planning until you reach your defined success.
Why should you do the planning but throw away the plans?

It’s a little drastic to say you need to throw away your plans. Think of it as writing your plans in the sand – at any time you can adjust your plans to keep you moving towards your set success goals when the tide changes or the circumstances attack.
You want a plan for your business success, but you want a plan you will work on and also one that will work with you during the changes that arrive when you step out into your possibilities. The plan is your map. The journey is your planning lived out with intentional actions.
A plan doesn’t do anything until you add action, but action without planning leaves you spinning your wheels (lots of movement with little or no progress).
If you are going to build your success you have to be invested in planning with purposeful intent.
Are you busy with much doing?
Challenge: Take a few moments today to create an actionable plan for your week that you will work and that will work for your flexible moments. Share what your planning strategy looks like.
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And if you missed last week’s WPprosper article, catch up now:
Do You Have the Right Stuff for Business Success: 12 Things You Need

Kathryn Lang believes it is simple, and as an award-winning author and natural-born hopesmith, she shares tips on how to find your why, pursue your purpose, and live a bold, intentional life – always with a dash of twisted encouragement.
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