The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.
Most men are ruled by the heart, not the head. Their plans are vague, and when they meet obstacles they improvise. But improvisation will only bring you as far as the next crisis, and is never a substitute for thinking several steps ahead and planning to the end.
What good is it to have the greatest dream in the world if others reap the benefits and the glory? Never lose your head over a vague, open-ended dream—plan to the end. The only solution is to plan for the long run. Foresee the future with as much clarity as the gods on Mount Olympus, who look through the clouds and see the ends of all things.
According to the cosmology of the ancient Greeks, the gods were thought to have complete vision into the future. They saw everything to come, right down to the intricate details. Men, on the other hand, were seen as victims of fate, trapped in the moment and their emotions, unable to see beyond immediate dangers.
· Those heroes, such as Odysseus, who were able to look beyond the present and plan several steps ahead, seemed to defy fate, to approximate the gods in their ability to determine the future.
· The comparison is still valid—those among us who think further ahead and patiently bring their plans to fruition seem to have a godlike power.
10 Truths about People
- Most people are too imprisoned in the moment to plan with any kind of foresight.
- They do not possess the ability to ignore immediate dangers.
- People believe that pleasure translate into power.
- They are powerless of being able to overcome the natural human tendency to react to things as they happen.
- They have not taken the time to train themselves, to step back, imagining the larger things taking shape beyond their immediate vision.
- Most people believe that they are in fact aware of the future that they are planning and thinking ahead.
- They are only succumbing to their desires, to what they want the future to be.
- Their plans are vague, based on their imaginations rather than their reality.
- They may believe they are thinking all the way to the end.
- They are really only focusing on the happy ending, and deluding themselves by the strength of their desire.
Remember: When you see several steps ahead, and plan your moves all the way to the end, you will no longer be tempted by emotion or by the desire to improvise. Your clarity will rid you of the anxiety and vagueness that are the primary reasons why so many fail to conclude their actions successfully. You see the ending and you tolerate no deviation.
If you are clear and far-thinking enough, you will understand that the future is uncertain, and that you must be open to adaptation. Only having a clear objective and a far-reaching plan allows you that freedom.
