Let me first start by wishing everyone a Happy Labor Day. There were many of us a week ago that had great plans for this three-day weekend. We may have had plans of enjoying a day, two or three at the beach, having fun driving in the Intracoastal waterways on our boats, maybe plans of fishing, spearfishing or some scuba diving. Maybe, your plans were flipping some burgers and dogs or cooking some nice steaks while drinking down a few cold ones at a picnic or home by the pool. Most importantly we had plans to relax, recharge, have fun and enjoy.
However, it seems that all those plans for some of us have been dramatically altered for now. All of us here in Florida and up the Southeast coast have an invited guest joining us this weekend in the name of Dorian. Suddenly, we all need to shift our plans, shift our focus, shift from fun and sun to short term preparation and safety.
This is no different than in business and life. Think about it, does everything always go as planned in business and in life? We all know the answer and that is a resounding NO. Things happen, adversity presents itself, Murphy is usually right around the corner when you least expect it. If you are not crystal clear on your plan of execution in business, if you are not ready to handle any adversity that may come your way, if you’re not prepared to make the shifts and alter your plans, you are going to get derailed.
If you are one of those who have a crystal-clear plan for your business. Plans for the 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, ten years out. You review parts of these plans weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. This process keeps you on track, it keeps your energy and focuses squarely in the right place, you know exactly where you need to go, what steps you need to take. In this situation, if adversity like this unfortunate hurricane was to hit or brush your area this weekend, yes, you would need to focus your energy and attention in a different area and make the short-term adjustments. However, when the storm has passed, and you pick up the pieces, you then get right back to your original plan.
On the flip side, if you are one of those who do not have a short-term plan for a weekend storm or a long-term plan for your business. If you are not reviewing your plans, altering them and making the shifts, you’re not intentional and focused on exactly where your energy needs to go, to do what you need to do to get you exactly what you want. Unfortunately, in this case, when adversity hits, and you’re not intentionally focused properly, it can derail you and your business, it could actually take you weeks or months to get back to where you were before you got derailed. Worse yet, it can take you and your business down.
If you are one of those that may be in harms way and you don’t have plans for the storm, there are plenty of resources to follow to get your checklist of exactly what you need to put in place to protect yourself and your loved ones from any short-term harm. If you don’t have short and long-term plans for your business. You simply need to create them. Again, there are plenty of resources like myself that can guide you in this process.
I’ll share Randy, a successful high-end financial planner client most repeated lines, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
Create your plan to succeed. Be prepared for this short-term potential adversity in the storm. Plan for the short and long-term both for your business and life. Plan to finish your 2019 year out strong. Most importantly, make the proper preparations, be safe and enjoy your Labor Day.