There is a saying that “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. If you take a look at many successful people, you will learn that their secret to success is taking the time and putting in the energy to plan where they want to be.

If you want to form a business and succeed, you will need a marketing and business plan. If you want to pay less in taxes, you will need to do some income tax planning. The same is true with planning your estate, career, family, and many other things you would like to do in life. Even football coaches are into planning when it comes to the next game.

If you read the book, “The Millionaire Next Door” or “The Millionaire Mind”, many of the individuals covered in the book are just common people who reached the stage by careful long-term planning. Even Bill Gates and Warren Buffett started out this way.

Before you plan, you will need a vision and goals. You will need to think of the big picture, be realistic, creative, focused, think the possible, and strategize. One such person you may want to read about is Walt Disney.

As you know, Disney started out as a cartoonist. His vision and goal was to become a famous cartoonist. First, he started out with Oswald the Rabbit. But what changed things was the creation of a mouse named Mickey. Disney did not just limit himself to cartooning, but got involved in making cartoon movies. After he succeed in a this area, he came up with yet another vision, which would later become realistic. In 1954, Disneyland opened.

Walt focused on the big picture. He had visions. His thinking was creative and realistic. He saw what many thought was impossible. He used the power of focus, thought the possible and used the power of planning to make things happen.

Next time you want to get into a project or start a business, think about the power of planning.