The Genius Who Planned Her Entire Wedding, Career, and Life
I hear, all the time, young chaps tell me about their wedding. I respond with, “You’re married? You’re only 19”. They’ll chuckle and quickly explain they’re not married yet but have the entire affair planned out. Some might see this activity as presumptuous, eager, or even unhealthy - I say it’s genius.
If you were told to focus on a certain color you’d immediately scan the area and find all instances of that color. If you told yourself you’re going to buy a certain type of car, you’d immediately start noticing all of those cars currently on the road; you might even think there are more cars like this since you started thinking about it. It’s called the Baader Meinhof effect and you can use it to your advantage.
By focusing on your end goal you’ll end up seeing opportunity and taking action toward that goal without even realizing it. This goes far beyond planning your wedding, the partner, and what you plan on serving during the cocktail hour. If your end goal is to write a New York Times Bestseller, become an Oscar-winning director, or even to be president of your child’s school’s PTA, your day-to-day life will revolve around those goals. Next time you find a writing opportunity, chance to speak with a successful director, or mingle with suburban parents, you’re much more likely to take action since that goal is in the back of your mind and everything you do should be making that more and more possible every day.
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Imagine your life with a beginning and an end. Where do the big events occur? Where do your chapters begin and end? Point them out on the timeline of your life - it won’t go according to that schedule by any means, but planning for it is one of the most important things you can do.