I was watching some financial news channel during lunch yesterday and the phrase (title for today) popped up as part of some company’s advertising.  The context seemed far too narrow and my mind started racing as to what that phrase means to others right now and how I might interpret it (strategic plan, vacation plan, succession plan, retirement logistics plan, post COVID-19 recovery plan).

What’s your next plan?

•To reconnect with friends and family?

•To visit your favorite restaurant?

•To finish your must do list before this blessing-in-disguise-of-a-lifetime slow down lifts and you didn’t get done what you should have been able to get done?

Dr. Elvin Isgrig was one of my professors in college and as he stated, if he had created a To Do list at an earlier age, he felt he would have been far more successful.  The To Do list is really nothing more than a daily plan.

Ben Franklin said “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

You’ve likely read a previous post of mine about how Andrew Carnegie commissioned a consultant who told him the best way to focus his leadership was to generate a prioritized list (plan) of the five most important things needed to be done the next day and stay on point thus minimizing distractions and accomplishing far more than he would otherwise.

So…

*Let’s make a plan to be the best leader we can be

-The best version of ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually

-To be kind and tolerant and humble and honest

-To share our feelings regularly with our loved ones instead of waiting for hard times or regretful moments

*Let’s make a plan for our children to be set up for a higher quality of life and deeper relationships than we experienced

*Lets make a plan to be kind to ourselves, forgive ourselves for being … human, disappointing ourselves for some obscure thing that no one else knows of or could possibly care about

Be deliberate in your planning but don’t be consumed by it.  Read that again because I’ve failed at this continually.

The passage that speaks to me and gives me pause is Proverbs 16:9 NIV

“In their hearts, people plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

Have a blessed weekend!