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 Someday Plan for Teens
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Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of high school kids about starting your own business. I used to be intimidated at the prospect of lecturing teenagers, but I got over it after this one engagement. Anyone who thinks that our children are not ambitious or enthusiastic about life certainly hasn’t spoken to any kids lately! If anything, the youth of today are more dedicated to their own personal success than many adults. What’s more, they “get” stuff that goes over the heads of a lot of grown-ups.
One idea that really struck a chord with them was what I call the “Someday Plan.” Some of the kids were laughing out loud before I even had a chance to explain. Instead, they told me how the Someday Plan works. With a little prompting, they were shouting out to me examples of the Someday Plan playing out in their heads:
“Someday I will be rich.”
“Someday I will have a job that I like.”
“Someday I will be happy with my boyfriend!”
In a nutshell, the Someday Plan is an elaborate excuse people make up that helps them avoid their dreams. It is a vague and unspecific fantasy that gives a bit of comfort in the present, but offers no real recipe for success and therefore cannot make you truly happy. This might sound complicated, but down in their guts, those kids understood. You are either open to the idea that the Someday Plan is a trap or you are not, regardless of your age.
Anyone who is not open to how the Someday Plan leads to failure is already in trouble. Perhaps you have noticed friends or family constantly complaining about life—how they feel let down by circumstances and how they lack joy and fulfillment. It is very possible that these people are secretly haunted by an unfinished goal that they have fantasized about but never really tried to attain. Somewhere in their life’s journey, they may have bought into the Someday Plan, and now they are paying the price. Perhaps the reason why these kids understand the trap that is the Someday Plan, when many adults do not, is that the youth of today haven’t sold out their dreams. Not yet, anyway.
But if it is so obvious that the Someday Plan doesn’t work, why do so many of us buy into it? Well, for one thing, it’s easy. It requires no action. The difference between a dream that you can build on and a fantasy is that a fantasy stays that way forever. Fantasies don’t come true because they are, by definition, activities that we use to pass the time and to mask the discomfort that we might be feeling in the present. Despite whatever lie we might tell ourselves, fantasies are just a way of avoiding what is going on right now.
Thus, you could say that tThe Someday Plan is comfortable and safe. Instead of doing the work and taking the risks necessary to achieve success, the Someday Plan allows us to procrastinate. It allows us to keep doing what we have always done while hoping for different results. We procrastinate because we are afraid—afraid of failure, or of change. Succumbing to fear gives us permission to stick to the Someday Plan, giving us a false sense of security.
But here’s the good news! The Someday Plan is not a signed contract. Even if you’ve stuck to the Someday Plan your whole life, you can choose to buy out of it and buy into a new plan—starting now!
All you need to do is choose. As well-known inspirational writer Earl Nightingale once wrote, “People are where they are because that's exactly where they really want to be ... whether they'll admit that or not.” The choices you made in your past got you to where you are now. Your choices from here on in can start you on a new journey that will change you from being a victim of the Someday Plan to being a Dream Builder!
I finished off my talk by introducing my young audience to the Dream Builders plan for personal success: my alternative to the Someday Plan, which can be applied to any of life’s goals. This one was a little more difficult for them to grasp, so we reviewed it carefully. It’s easy to remember because each concept in order spells out the word DREAM.
Decide what you want and, most important, why you want it—what it means to you to achieve it. Be specific about it. Then work towards it.
Refuse to take “no” for an answer, regardless of what obstacles come your way.
Employ your subconscious. Imagine yourself having what you want and feeling good about it.
Act as if you already have what you are aiming for. Take action towards making your dream a reality.
Map your treasure. Collect items—pictures, articles, memorabilia, etc.—that remind you of what you are striving for and place them in prominent places where you will see them.
There it is. You have the tools. Now, take on a new attitude. Be like the kids, and embrace your dreams rather than riding out on the Someday Plan. |
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