My Riffs

The ones we prepare can handle adversity better.  You can’t anticipate every single thing that could be thrown at you. But you can prepare for the unknown.  Plan and prepare as much as possible. Don’t let it stall action into the place of avoidance. But do plan and prepare as much as you can before action. 

Be ready.  Be ready for things to go as planned.  But.  Be ready for things to go differently.  Be prepared to adjust. 

Get ahead when you can. Starting behind is demoralizing. Try and jump out ahead whenever possible. A head start will take a lot of pressure off. Plan and get ahead. 

Make the best of today and always hope for the best tomorrow. Be present but hope for tomorrow. Things won’t go to plan but that’s okay. Hope for the best and know things will require constant rerouting. 

As much as possible, get ahead of it. Anticipate what you can and get ahead of it. You have a much better chance of success on the early side rather than the late side. 

Planning and preparation should always include things going wrong. When do plans go exactly as expected? Rarely. So plan for the unexpected. 

Think ahead, or else you will rarely end up where you need to go. But be present, don't be so caught up in what if's that you miss the present.

It can be overwhelming figuring it all out. So sometimes you just figure out the next step. And that’s totally fine.

It won't happen unless you plan on it happening. And by planning for it to happen, that means working for it to happen. You can't even win a lottery without some level of planning and work. So lofty goals are nothing more than day dreams if we don't create a plan and put it into action. That doesn't mean the plan will work exactly how we thought. But it will at least put you in motion towards that goal.

How often do things go exactly according to plan? Safe to say, very rarely. There’s too many variables to take into account to accurately predict and plan for the future. Even 30 minutes forward. Your trip to the grocery store will likely have some unexpected things happen. An item out of stock, a light out at an intersection, low fuel and an unexpected visit to a gas station, and on and on. The point I’m getting at is the future if difficult (impossible) to predict. Yes, we should plan, and plan carefully. But we also should always plan for things to change. And we shouldn’t be discouraged when things do not go as planned. There’s way too many variables outside of our control that we can’t stress over. Adaptability is a key to successful individuals. Same applies to businesses. Adapting to ever changing circumstances is important to get through not only life but every day. 

You need to have a plan. Goals are good. We need to aim at something. However, it's easy to get focused on what's next and miss out on what's happening now. The here and now is where we glean from. We don't gain anything from the future, until the future happens. So if we neglect to take what we can from the here and now, we neglect to gain what the present has to offer.

This year has been a year of rash, arbitrary reactions. Mostly I'm referring to governments. There seems to be missing some sound logical and rational decision making. Fear has been the governing force over decision making. What would be different if we tested our responses and then validated the results? I'm sure our responses would be a lot more nuanced than they are. 

You will fail if you don't have a plan. But you have to also know your plan will need to be adjusted. So... Have a plan, and plan on it changing. But don't skip the plan.

Statistically speaking, New Years Resolutions don't work. Make a resolution for tomorrow instead. Don't wait till January 1. Also, make your resolution realistic. Maybe break a big resolution into several stages to make it more realistic.

Short sightedness causes us to spend today what we need tomorrow. Be it relationships, money or time. Project into the future. Don't overlook today because that's a mistake too. You need to stay present but be looking out into the future. Bad goals lead to short sightedness. Check your goals and make sure they are a good long term plan.

If you don't have a plan, you can plan to fail. So the saying goes. And I believe it. 1. You need a plan. You don't end up somewhere good by accident. 2. You need to be ready to change that plan. Rarely does plan A go without a hitch.

The end result is generally dependent upon the expectations that were set. High expectations are good, but unrealistic expectations can cause needless failures. Setting the expectation before something begins greatly influences the outcome.

The seeds your planting today will be the crop to sustain you tomorrow. Make sure you're sowing nourishing seeds.

Wow! Life gets busy and cluttered. It's increasingly getting harder to get everything done in a given day. We have more efficiency than ever, but we're no less busy. How do we regain some time every day? Reduce clutter. Our world is cluttered materially, but also digitally. It may not be spring, but it's a new year. Maybe it's time to review your digital world. I spent the last two weeks reviewing and cleaning up. I hope to gain more free time from this. Here are a couple ways to cleanup your digital world: - Go through your mailbox and unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe. (saves time everyday, saves you from wanting things you don't need) I have unsubscribed from over 45 different regular mailings. - Go though your mobile device and turn off as many notifications as possible. On an iPhone you can customize notifications down to turning off individual app badges. Go through your device(s)and get familiar with how notifications work and customize them. - G...

Ideas are not overly difficult. Some people are definitely better at them than others. And "idea people" are incredibly important in any organization or group. The thing about ideas is, we generally think about the beginnings of things. Our ideas are often about how we start something, but we often neglect to think about the end. Starting something is wonderful, but in starting something, having an end or goal in mind is just as important as the idea itself. Otherwise, the idea becomes a wild goose chase. Ideas to start something are great. Just remember for every idea, consider two parts: 1. Idea start 2. Idea end The ideas end doesn't mean finality, but more the goal of it. Ideas to start something are only as good as the ideas ending.