"Failure to Prepare, is Preparing to Fail."

How could I not pull inspiration from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson when we are practically co-workers? Okay that's a stretch... but we do share the same employer! Sort of.

"Work with what you got to get what you don't."

I think one of the most important lessons I have discovered in the past year is that, "Failure to prepare, is preparing to fail." It is kind of like creating small wins and starting small, but knowing how to prepare for those incremental improvements that will lead you to your full potential.

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Let's start with a couple examples of what I mean by 'preparing'. You want to become a CEO, business owner, famous actor, whatever this blank may be for you, but you don't have a good vision of how to get there? Research what those in that position did BEFORE they hit the jackpot job. You want to be the best at your sport, current job position, side hustle? At traveling, being parent, a teacher, a mentor? The list goes on and on. Build a plan! Or your expectations are more likely to fall flat. If there's not a penciled in road to follow that you've develop from your own needs, it's much easier to end up down the wrong road. Now, I don't take back my post on distractions, but preparing will help take you to the RIGHT road of distractions.

As a cliche, end of year motivational post, I want to share a small way that you can reflect, build a plan, and move forward on your goals:

A couple of weeks ago, my roommate and I decided to create our vision boards. Not just for 2019, but for the short term and long term. We took time to write out and talk about what we've accomplished, some things we've struggled with and what we want to improve upon. Then we talked about things we want to accomplish moving forward to better ourselves. It felt so good to bounce ideas back and forth, talk about our dreams, and then, that penciled in plan simply fell into place.

Just because I am sharing this at the end of 2018, doesn't mean you have to wait until the New Year each year to develop your plan. New Years can be a strong motivational aspect for people to start this process, but instead of having the mindset that now is the only time to start "fresh" or the typical "New Year, New Me" attitude, it can actually be more helpful to just improve the 'old' you that's always going to be inside you anyway. You'll be that much closer to achieving your dream goals if you prepare, and less likely to fail or fall short.

Your Steps to Prepare:

(Inspired by Morning Coffee with Dee)

1. Reflect on your current successes - This will help you create measurable goals and allow you to see which areas you want to improve upon.

2. Find your areas to improve - Using the eight dimension of wellness is SUPER helpful to put your goals into all areas of your life. And it helps for organizing your thoughts.

3. Write your bucket list - This can be literally anything! Goals for this week, this month, this year, your life time. This will add some excitement to your daily routine. (Like my bucket list goal of learning how to plan another instrument... more on that later)

• Tip - Make sure you are writing all of this down in a notebook so you have it for your reference in the future. Put that list somewhere you will see it everyday for a reminder of what you are striving towards. And use Pinterest to find interesting ways to put your list into a fun visual!

"Tomorrow is in large part determined by what you do today. So make today a masterpiece. You have control over that." - Coach John Wooden

#makeaplan