Micro Class: Plan A to Z

Foreign. Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another micro class. This one's on Plan A to Z. It's inspired by Making Hope Happen by Shane Lopez. Science of Hope. Plan A to Z. We've talked about goals, we've talked about agency and we've talked about pathways which are the three components to the science of hope, which are worth repeating. You have a future casted vision of your awesome life as it's unfolding in the years ahead. You have a sense of agency, of confidence, of empowerment. To be able to do it then, you know that you need to adopt multiple pathways. Now this is plan A to Z. Shane makes the important point that too often we start down this path with a sense of empowerment. We think we can get it right, right? Going after our goal, but then we only have one sense of how to go about doing it. And the moment our plan A doesn't work, we kind of fall down and get a little bit overwhelmed and stressed. Well, he says, look, okay, plan A doesn't work. No big deal. What's your plan B? Okay, I'm going to try this way. Oh shoot, that didn't work. Okay, awesome. What's your plan C? Well, I'm going to try to go that way. Oh, that didn't work. And you continue going through the Alphabet. It doesn't matter how long it takes. There's plan C. You know what, I'm still working on it. Plan A, A. I'm going to go to plan A, B, ac. I will do an infinite number of things. I'm committed to this goal and I may decide that I want to go after that goal. Right? But let's just assume that goal remains very important to us. Optimizing, actualizing is important to me. I tried all these different things. It didn't work. But I still have a sense of agency and I'm willing to try an infinite number of pathways. I'll go. I don't care where I have to go. There's my goal. I got it. I even had to go off the screen to get it. That's how we roll plan A to Z. And I actually did this as I was reading the book. I stopped and I literally wrote down plans A through Z on how we're going to achieve our number one business objective right now. I'll talk about this more in Business 101 when I teach that class because I was already planning to teach plan A to Z but I hadn't done it quite the way that I just did it. But literally A, B, C, D, E, F, G, what's your goal? What are all the different ways you can get there? Now, of course you still want to bet on plan A, or if you're on plan B or C, then this is the one you believe in right now. You're going to go for it. You know you're going to have obstacles and you know you have options in the event that that plan doesn't work. So then you don't get overwhelmed and you don't quit. You maintain hope. So really, really, really big idea. Another little tangent here that I didn't talk about in the note. Jeff Goins in the Art of Work says, look, this is just how it works. When you move from plan A to Plan B, that's not even like out of the plan. That's just how it works. That's the process. All great businesses, all great lives involve pivots. It's just part of the deal. So bake it into your entire planning and orientation and if you're feeling it, have fun and actually make a list of what you're going to do for each of these different plans. And that builds a ton of hope that you can in fact bring this goal to fruition. Goals Agency Pathways Plan A to Z. Hope you enjoyed. What plan are you on and how many do you have up your sleeve? Oh, here's one more idea actually, before we go. Can't not talk about Nassim Talib and his antifragile concept. Nassim Taleb tells us that if we want to be antifragile, it's imperative that we have this Plans A to Z. He calls it optionality. Optionality. You will be fragile if you only have one option. If this is the only path that will work for you and that path proves to not be effective. You're fragile. But if you have an infinite number of pathways, that's one key to being antifragile. Again, optionality. Create a ton of options in your life, no matter what aspect of life you're talking about. And obviously you're focused on the Plan A, but you know how you can create happiness in spite of any given plan not working. Optionality. Anti fragility Plan A to Z. Isn't it a bit odd that we went from math to science to history, but somehow missed the class on how to live? For some wacky reason, optimal living 101 never made the schedule. Of course, it's too late to go back and change that and you're too busy to read full time to catch up yet. If you're like us you're all about optimizing your life and actualizing your pot. So imagine this. Imagine having someone read the best books on optimal living and pulling out the big ideas that can truly change your life. You know those sections you asterisk and underline and mark all up? Then imagine that guy me connecting those ideas to other great books and helping you apply them to your life today. Well, that's what I do is something we call Philosopher's Notes where I break down each great book into a simple 6 page PDF, 20 minute MP3 and 10 minute Philosopher's Notes TV episode. Then imagine me taking the absolute best big ideas from those great books and sharing them with you in fun, inspiring, super practical optimal living 101 classes on stuff like purpose 101 confidence 101 business 101 meditation 101, that sort of thing. You've got a personal trainer? I'm kind of like your personal philosopher. Ancient Wisdom plus Modern Science plus Common Sense plus Virtue plus Mastery plus Fun. That's what our optimized membership program is all about. We'd love to have you join us. Check us out at BrianJohnson. Me join.