So what do I mean by…“Smart Planning is writing a letter into the future?”
It Simply Means, To Bring Your Future Into The Present Day By Planning?
Confused?
What do you want in the future?
- No monthly bills?
- No car payments?
- No driving to work?
- No house payments?
- No sitting around the house in winter when the sun and fun of a tropical island is waiting?
- Not worrying about the kids college fund?
- or….fill in the blank?
What you are actually doing is planning to set goals. However, I find “Goal Setting” uneventful, dull and boring.
Here’s the idea, January last year I started planning about the future and that I wanted. I began with what I wanted this year to look like. I then wanted to look at the following year. Then 5 years and beyond.
Before this planning, I had no idea what I wanted or what I pictured my future to look like. I knew I wanted to have all my monthly bill paid off. I knew I wanted a family vacation. I knew I wanted to get a new car for my wife. But beyond that, I had no plans to get it done except save more, reduce our spending.
I got this idea about writing a letter to my Present Self on what my Future Self should look like.
MY Future Self was sitting in a hut on the beach in Tahiti, looking at the clear blue-green water, with a tropical drink, my wife next to me, the kids in college. And for the next month walk in the warm water and relax at the beach house.
For the moment, I was excited about the future.
Getting more visual about what I wanted, I really got connected with ME. For once I was dreaming just like I did many years ago. That was before the daily grinds of working, finances, every day ups and downs.
I allowed myself to really think about what I want while also having fun doing it. It felt less overwhelming and more fun to visually map my life out. My future self. All the dreams I once Had.
For all of us that are daydreamers, visually planning out our life can make daydreaming feel a little more practical. We can be daydreamers with real plans for our future, visuals of what it would be like. Daydreaming bring smiles and “What If It were Possible?”
I don’t believe that simply daydreaming your future makes it so. I believe you have to work hard on your goals, strategically plan and trust in your vision for yourself.
By no means do I believe that you can sit around and visualize and expect it to happen. You have to put energy into making your goals happen. Planning it out can help point you in the right direction. It can encourage you and show you the way, but it can’t and won’t do the work for you.
So now let’s write a letter to yourself.
Writing A Letter To Your Future Self
Here is a tip I learned from a good friend and very successful in his home based business.
This was a big step for me and one I continue to use every year.
I write a letter to myself.
In the letter, I talk about my accomplishments for the year. I describe how my life has changed. I will even describe where I have traveled, places I’ve been, people I have see, things I have learned.
I go down the list of categories of my success and talked about how proud I am for the life I built for myself.
The letter continues with my accomplishments…how my life is with no financial worries.
My wife has her new car, we remodeled the kitchen, I had my tropical drink in Tahiti.
My letter always opens my eyes to what the year is going to be like and the life-changing things that will happen.
By writing about what you desire in your life next year you give yourself a mindset (Planning to set goals) to start working on today to make all your next year’s planning to come true.
I date the letter to myself as next years date. The letter is always in the “First Person” writing. This way as I read it, all the dreams, accomplishments have come true.
First-person perspective is essentially told like a journal entry, a personal story, or a running commentary of thoughts. The reader is not watching this character from the outside, but through this character’s eyes. We see what she sees and hear what she hears. If the character is wrong, we won’t necessarily know, because her perspective is all we have to go on. There is no distance between the reader and the character’s thoughts.
It’s a way of planning, a way of setting goals. The difference is, in my mind it has already happened.
Planning for your future success before this year is finished makes sense. There is no point in planning in January or later when the year has already started.
As with everything in life a pro-active approach is always better than a re-active one. Success rarely happens by chance.
I find, this is a fun approach to the dull goal setting.
The letter to myself, is folded and placed in an envelop. The envelop sits on my desk next to the computer. I read it once a month.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail” ~Alan Lakein
If You Agree, That Writing A Letter To Yourself For Next Year, What Should You Include?
- First of all review how the past year has gone for you
- What worked for you and what did not work for you?
- What exercises produced the best reaction?
- What produced your best sales: Blogging, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube or any other social media?
- What products or services produced your best sales?
- What methods of communication did you embrace and how did they perform for you?
- What declines did you experience last year?
- Did your business “stand still” or grew?
- In a world that is constantly evolving if you are standing still you are certainly NOT moving forward…
- If you have a home based business, review your overall strategies.
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now” ~Alan Lakein
Planning Ideas:
- Your Big Picture: What do you hope to accomplish next year?
- Your Priorities: What is important to you and what can you do to make it better?
- Specific Ideas: For your business, blog, or personal life
- Did last years business strategies work or what should you do different?
- Be positive…write to yourself positive goals and accomplishments.
Global Population Is Growing
A recent study discovered that the average person checks their mobile device 85 times a day, spending up to 4-5 hours browsing the web. People are interacting with their mobile devices like never before.
Smartphones, Tablets and Smart TVs will all make it easier for consumers to buy online. The global population of Internet and mobile device users is growing exponentially, so you need to be there when they browse for information on products and services that you provide.
Do you have a vision of how YOUR Next Year will look like and beyond?
It may sound like a lot of work and it is!
Planning to set goals is never fun unless you add dreams.
I think you will find it fun, entertaining, discover new dreams. It will put a smile on your face.
The chains that’s holding you back will be broken….for good!
Once you have done your letter, next years letter will be easier, expanded and more accomplishments.
I invite you to try writing a Positive letter to yourself with all your dreams and desires completed.
Here’s to your new self,
