Planning

I got to reminiscing about college when I realized that I graduated 40 years ago. Time sure flies! I was remembering my last semester when I only needed one required course and could fill 9 more hours with electives. So I took fun class like “Science Fiction and Fantasy” and “Chess.”

How did I get to the point where I could coast through my last semester in college and enjoy it instead of stressing out? In one word: planning.
When I got to college as a freshman, I signed up for 18 hours of classes, all required courses. I used the catalog to plot out my entire 4 years, taking 18 hours every semester and maximizing required courses, all with the intent of having that last semester for whatever might come. I didn’t need anything more by that last 5 months, so was able to take it easy
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This wasn’t new for me. When I was 12 years old, my brother was 15 and told Mom and Dad he wanted a car. They said, “If any child of ours ever saves enough to buy a car, we’ll support it.” I started my paper route that very year and kept it five and half years, saving enough to pay cash for my first car when I was a senior in high school.

When we were married, my wife and I planned our future: how many children, saving, retiring early, and much more. Each year, on our wedding anniversary (although we didn’t always remember), we listed out plans for six months, a year, five years, ten years, and lifetime. We planned ahead to make it possible to buy a house, take vacations, raise two boys, and retire early.

Not everything went according to plan, of course. But many of the diversions from plans were serendipitous joys – like traveling to China twice and career paths that weren’t ideal but gave excellent retirement benefits.

If I could give one piece of advice to each generation, it would be PLAN. Plot out everything. Set goals. Create the means to reach those goals. And when the path turns down a different road, adjust and keep planning. By working today for what you wish for tomorrow, many tomorrows will come true.
This holds true for every aspect of life, not just the “big picture.” When I go shooting photos, I plan where I will go and what I will shoot. Invariably some wonderful opportunity pops up in the middle of my plans and I take advantage of it.

It really is true that “luck” is mostly self-made. Luck comes from planning ahead and working hard. Those two things will very often land you in the right place at the right time. Luck isn’t having something fall out of the sky; it is creating situations where unexpected good things happen.
Plan ahead; you will never regret the effort and you might find enormous rewards.

Good luck.