The Fallacy of a 10-Year Plan
“I don’t know what I want that far in advance. I don’t have any specifics.”
In my Soul and Strategy Clarity Experience, I include a section on life design: what is your “ideal” or “10-year” state across many aspects of your life and business.
For some people, dreaming that far in advance is unmanageable because they don’t know what they want. For others, it’s challenging to put down on paper a vision that feels so unachievable, where they might “fail”. And others find it an exercise in futility - because 10 years ago, they never could have imagined being where they are today.
The fallacy is in believing that the plan is the point. The purpose of the plan is to provide a direction, a filter for today’s decisions.
Clarify Your Aspirations
When we create a 10-year plan, or state our “ideal” life design, we see some of the highest aspirations in our lives.
You may want to travel the world at a moment’s notice or live abroad.
You may need to get out of physical “making” or “done for you” products and services to avoid repetitive strain injury.
You may be best when you work non-traditional hours. Or you may be best 8-5 in an office with a supportive manager.
You may want to open a brewery.
You may have passions around fixing our food systems, climate change, home insecurity, or other causes of our time.
You may want to have a house at the lake, or in Asheville, or at the beach.
You may get lit up by being on tour with your book.
You may dream of being the CEO of a multi-million dollar venture, or of being a creative with a small support team.
You may want quiet nights sitting on a porch or by the fire with friends or children.
Can you envision how your business or life design might be altered based on these different dreams? The finances your business would need to generate, the scale of your business, the physical/delivery container?
Identify Who you Would Need to Be
What would someone with that vision have the skills to do, have beliefs around?
What would you need to learn to achieve that vision?
Who would you need to bring on to support you in areas that are not your gifts and genius?
Who would you need to BE to achieve that vision?
Based on that insight, what actions can you take today to set off in that direction?
Inspire the next Action
The ultimate point of a 10-year plan, or ideal life design, is not to have what you put on paper.
It’s to set a direction for the very next steps you can take in your life.
Each step you take in the direction of your dreams, you’ll learn more. You might take a direction and say, hm, that’s not for me. Or you might take a step and something magical you never could have expected will arise.
This, or something better.
Our visions inspire us to take action, to love what we are creating, to take steps in the direction of our calls and dreams.
The journey is the point, not the end destination.
Can you always believe in receiving “This, or something better?”