Plan to ... and again I say .. Plan.

Some say you don't always need a plan, sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.  This is a refreshing outlook in a world that demands major planning in every aspect and due to continuing technology, making things so accessible, it leaves one wondering, how it may be possible to live without planning every detail. Yet there are also occasions when "to plan is the plan" and we need to stick to it.  The secret lies in the word itself.  PLAN where the P stands for presenting yourself at the start, before your begin the journey to whatever it may be that you are looking to achieve. You will need to do all the thinking and considering of options, but ultimately you need to turn up at the start, if you want to get to the finish.  L stands for love or passion to achieve a dream or goal we must have this ingredient in whatever we attempt, because this is what will count in the times when we cannot understand why we have chosen a particular course, or destination.  Being passionate is such an exhilarating feeling and once tasted, it should be savoured and kept close to your heart. A can only stand for one thing in our lives and that is attitude, because without it, we will fizzle away, no matter how meticulous we think we are, in the achievement of success.  The best preparations and research only get us some of the way, but attitude drives us when nothing else is left.  Attitudes can and should be adjusted to the challenges we face and the people we interact with and even those that bring out the worst in us, can be dealt with, if we can adjust quickly to their manner and show them an opposite spirit, which catches them off guard and renders them defenceless to the destination you want a discussion, or plan to go to.  Last but not least is the N and this signifies noting what is going on around you, taking in the details daily and making mental notes of what is important.  This ability is what distinguishes many times, the difference between a success and a near miss, because the margin for error may be small, but the reward at the end of either a well planned move, or a spontaneous achievement, makes it so worthwhile.  Hannibal from the A team (I'm giving away my age now) used to say it best with "I love it when a plan comes together".