Step 1: Design your plan, and own it.

In 1972, a young man in Austria outlined his Master Plan for one of his friends, noting that he had written it years earlier and was already implementing it.  The plan included these elements: go to America, become the greatest bodybuilder that ever lived, educate himself with the necessary skills for achieving his goals, learn to speak English, make a lot of money, invest his money in real estate, work in the movies as an actor, producer, and director, become a millionaire, get rid of anything from his old life that stood in his way, get invited to the White House, marry a glamorous and intelligent woman, and become involved with politics. (from George Butler and the documentary Pumping Iron, 1977)

Today, we all know that young man as Arnold Schwarzenegger, and we know that he achieved each and every aspect of his Master Plan.  But think of how absurd his goals must have seemed to those around him.  He was going to completely remake himself – in another country, with another language – into a movie star and political leader.  Others may not have believed, but young Arnold did.  He’d spent the time and energy necessary to outline his personal vision statement, and he focused his attention, intensely and singularly, on achieving his dreams.  More than anything, he understood the power of his plan.

When you’ve thoroughly thought through what success means to you and are spending sufficient time in your relationship with God to ensure that you’re in line with His plans too, it’s time to start preparing your Imagine More Plan.

We’ll start with the first step – drafting your Personal Vision Statement – tomorrow in an extra post this week. And then we’ll cover the Responsibility Map in Thursday’s post.

Remember: to achieve the life of your dreams,  you must have a plan – and then you must own it.