In The Trenches
ure is an opportunity to learn something new. For "relentless" people,
the only real failure is giving up.
Make a Plan
How you reach a goal can be
easy or complicated, creative or conventional, fast or slow. It's up to you.
Here are two plans to make
$1,000,000.00.
The first way is to take a second
job that brings in $200.00 per week
after taxes (or set aside $200.00 per
week from your regular job, if you
make a lot of money.) Deposit this
$200.00 in an account that provides
seven percent interest. In 30 years,
you'll have your million. Then you
can retire and collect $70,000.00 per
year, forever, from interest. This
approach is mathematically guaranteed to succeed.
Another method (which I don’t
endorse or recommend), is to go to
the art museum and steal the most
expensive item and sell it for
$1,000,000.00. Obviously, this carries a great risk of being locked up
for 10 to 20 years — maybe with time
off for good behavior. It's also socially unacceptable, difficult to accomplish, and simply rude. And, while
the movies may glamorize art
thieves and cat burglars, real criminals are not like the movies. Besides,
what would your parents think?
These two plans are not acceptable to most people. Working 80
hours a week for 30 years is simply
too long to endure. Being a criminal
is also not something most people
want. Obviously, a plan needs to fit
you and your lifestyle.
Plans should be flexible, too.
This is for two reasons. The first is
that any plan may have problems.
For example, you have an important
job interview in the morning at 9:00
AM. The commute takes 30 minutes
so you plan to leave at 8:00. By
adding a half-hour, you will have the
option to take an alternate route if
your planned route is too congested.
(Note that even this small success
has goal, plan, cost, and execution
phases.)
The second reason for flexible
plans is that goals change. For
example, say that you are working
hard for a promotion. Then you find
out that the company is on shaky
financial ground. Your goal changes
from getting a promotion to not
being let go. Hopefully, your plan can
be modified for the new goal.
Execute the Plan
This is usually the hardest step.
Most people fail here for the simple
reason that it takes effort. Here is
where you pay for your goal.
TANSTAAFL! There Ain't No Such
Thing As A Free Lunch (Robert
FEBRUARY 2004
Circle #92 on the Reader Service Card.
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