Our Lives are Hardly Ever Planned Out

 Life happens when you're making other plans...  John Lennon

Carpenters measure twice or thrice and cut once...  they claim...  and, that makes sense.

Nobody goes on vacation without knowing where they are headed.  although, I suppose some of us just get in the car and drive.

Most successful companies develop rolling STRATEGIC PLANS (1-3 years or in some cases 3-5 years), evaluate their progress quarterly, making adjustments to the plan if and when they are necessary.

NOTE:  most Japanese companies develop strategic plans for 15-20 years...

Different management mindsets...

MOST OF US, but not ALL, live our lives without any planning taking place at all.

1. After high school, we go to college, go to a trade school, get married, or join the military.
2. We take the first job we can find and stay there until we retire, or we change jobs every 3-5 years using our experience to get a better job.
3. We retire without really knowing what we are going to do to keep busy and do whatever until we die.
4. If we do any retirement planning at all, it is during the last 10 years of our careers.

Does this sound familiar?

We do not know in the statement made by John Lennon if his statement making other plans was intended to mean:

• what to do today
• what to do this week
• what to do this year
• what to do this decade
• what to do this lifetime

I doubt very seriously that we think about our retirement when we are:

• 18 years of age
• 25 years of age
• 30 years of age
• 40 years of age
• 50 years of age
• maybe we do at 60 years of age

How many houses do you plan to buy?

How many wives do you plan to have?

How many children do you plan to have?

How many of those children will go to college?

How many cars do you plan to buy?

How many jobs do you plan to have?

How many companies do you plan to work for?

How many states do you plan to live in?

How much money do you plan to save?

How do you plan to become debt free?

How many times do you think you will be laid off?

How many car accidents will you have?

How many speeding tickets will you get?

How often do you think you will become seriously ill?