JUST IN CASE . . .

"I've got all the money I'll ever need, if I die by four o'clock."

Henny Youngman, 20th century American comedian.

I suspect Mr. Youngman passed with money enough to last well beyond the afternoon referenced in his joke.

Unfortunately that's not true for many and for them this is no joke.

No matter how well off you feel today there is good reason to plan for a day you're not.

Make all the money you can, saving more than you think you'll ever need.

DREAM, PLAN, EXECUTE

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."

Buddha, 5th century BC (approximate) founder of Buddhism

Far be it from me to correct Buddha, but maybe he wouldn't mind a small suggested edit.

Do not only dream of the future, also plan for what you wish it to be.

Some planning, even the most basic, will serve you well.

SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

"The years teach much which the days never know."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century American essayist/lecturer/poet.

A lot of small almost imperceptible incremental change often adds up to significant major change.

Pay attention to today, you might just see tomorrow.

WIN THE LOTTERY OR PLAN

"Planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal."

Unknown

Not always; most people who buy winning lottery tickets do so without planning.

But for the rest of us having a plan is a good thing.

DON'T FORGET TODAY

"A man's delight in looking forward to and hoping for some particular satisfaction is a part of the pleasure flowing out of it, enjoyed in advance. But this is afterward deducted, for the more we look forward to anything the less we enjoy it when it comes."

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher

New Year's Eve; the day we reflect on the past while looking forward to the future. However, don't forget today itself.

Yesterdays are to be remembered not relived, and tomorrows will come on their own soon enough.

But you can only live today, today.

I'll be wishing you a happy new year, starting tomorrow.

TODAY AND TOMORROW

"Only man clogs his happiness with care, destroying what is with thoughts of what may be."

John Dryden (1631-1700) British poet/dramatist/critic

I'd like to tell you this doesn't apply to me but I'd be lying if I did.

And it's true for everyone I've ever known although some much more than others.

You need to be concerned with what may be, that is at the heart of planning.

Just not at the expense of living today.

HERE'S WHAT YOU SHOULDA' DONE

"After the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she might have been saved."

Italian proverb

The big bucks go to those who know how to keep it from sinking.

WHAT WAS, NOT IS OR WILL BE

"Study the past if you would divine the future."

Confucius (BC 551-BC 479) Chinese philosopher

He said "study", not "live in".

Learn from the past, it has much to teach you, but what has been will not necessarily be.

I CERTAINLY KNOW WHAT I ASSUME

"He is poor indeed that can promise nothing."

Thomas Fuller

17th century British clergyman/author

Planning is about the future, little more than assumptions regarding what may happen.

You always end up assuming more than you know.

You can't promise to know but you can promise the most accurate assumptions.

IF WE COULD ONLY GO BACK?

"I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards."

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

Learn from the past, don't attempt to revisit, or worse, return to it.

PLANNING: CHILD'S PLAY

"I had six honest serving men. They taught me all I knew. Their names were: Where, What, When, Why, How and Who."

Rudyard Kipling 

Late 19th/early 20th century British writer

Very close to the foundation of planning (What, How, How Much, When, Who) for achievement of both personal and professional goals.

IT'S UP TO YOU

"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is."

Albert Camus

20th century French novelist, essayist, dramatist

In our defense, we are not born what we will ultimately become.

What that will be remains to be seen.

A good thing unless, as many do, we waste the opportunity to shape our destiny.

Rearview Mirror Planning

"You can never plan the future by the past."

Edmund Burke

18th century British political writer

This is a fairly common belief, particularly among those who do not understand planning.

It assumes plans will be based solely or primarily on what has happened as opposed to what may happen.

Doing that would produce a bad plan, however that isn't how you plan.

Actionable plans are those that clearly understand not only what happened but of greater importance why it happened, combined with what currently is and what is assumed will be, all refined as new information becomes available.

In other words you have to simultaneously see where you've been and where you are to plan for where you want to be.

One Size Does Not Fit All

"You cannot put the same shoe on every foot."

Publilius Syrus

1st century BC Roman writer

Whatever business strategy you've used successfully in the past will soon, if not already, no longer work.

It Does Or It Should?

"The future influences the present just as much as the past."

Friedrich Nietzsche

19th century German-Swiss writer/philosopher

Yes assuming we think as much about the future as we do the past, planning for it in the process.

But sadly we don't and as a result we mostly just get what comes our way.

You Must Move On To Get To The Future

"Finite to fail but infinite to venture."

Emily Dickinson
19th century American poet

What didn't work no longer matters.

Only what might does.

Self-Reflection

"Only by acceptance of the past can you alter it."

T.S. Elliot

20th century American-English poet playwright

And before you can accept it you must understand it, including things you've done and said you now wish you hadn't.

(In Business) Live For Today

"The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one that will last forever."

Anatole France

Late 19th/early 20 century French writer

So true.

And in business we often focus more on what we hope will be rather than concentrating on what is.

Plan for the future but don't forget to execute today.

"It Was Good Enough For My Grandfather . . ."

"To look back to antiquity is one thing, to go back to it is another."

Charles Caleb Colton

18th century British clergy

Much can and should be learned from the past and not just when it comes to retro design in automobiles.

And as George Santayana ominously suggested, "Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."

However there is a very fine line between learning from and continuing to live as we once did, no matter how successful that approach might have been.

Whether you be an employee or an employer, is your focus primarily past, present, or future?

They are not supposed to be the same.

Once When We Were Fab

"Mules are always boasting that their ancestors were horses."

German proverb

Many well known companies call attention to their stellar past reputations.

No problem doing that as along as their present matches or exceeds their past.

Does yours?