08 – Do You Need a Backup Plan?

You may be surprised to learn that many successful people never make backup plans. That’s because it’s not in their thoughts or vocabulary to fail. Backup plans tend to put failure in your mind rather than help you succeed with your first choice.

It’s a big “if” that doesn’t need to be there. It takes time to make plans, and the more time you’re putting into a backup plan, the less time you’ll spend on your dreams and goals.

Your backup plan will become your true reality and you’ll never realize what you might have done with your original plan for success. Another reason to steer clear of backup plans is that they decrease your desire to be or remain motivated.

A backup plan becomes your safety net if you haven’t risked everything on your plan for success. It might be an easier and safer path for you to take, but it won’t get you to the pinnacle of success you want.

Don’t Be Distracted by Plan B

The best and only way to succeed is to focus completely on the exact achievement you want to accomplish. Anything else is a waste of time and can sap your energy and take away your future options.

When you work hard at formulating and crafting Plan A, you won’t need a Plan B as a backup. You may face some obstacles along the way, but as long as you’re working hard to make Plan A a reality, that’s where your focus will be and that’s where you’ll succeed.

Your Plan B Will Come Along If You Need It

So what if Plan A doesn’t work out? Maybe you wanted to play football in the NFL, practiced as much as you could, but luck just didn’t find you (and that would need quite a bit of luck).

When you know in your heart of hearts that you tried your best and you didn’t give up because of fear of failure, it’s much easier to begin a new path to another type of success.

Don’t use a backup plan as an excuse to fail. It’s easy to take the alternate route when things get tough or you begin to doubt yourself. But without a backup plan, you don’t have a choice. You have to move forward.

Simply keep pushing onward with the original plan for as long as you can. Perhaps all you need to do is adjust your plans or tweak them to fit the present situation. As long as you’re going forward, you will succeed.