In my intro to this series I shared a little metaphor with you about that parked car. (in cased you missed it, click here). Picture the parked car is your passion project. So many of us are afraid to push the gas pedal and move forward. We’re afraid of failure. So all we do is sit and turn the steering wheel, thinking, pondering, mulling over ideas, but never going anywhere.

Today I want to challenge you to push that gas pedal. Forward motion is positive motion. Even if your first stop doesn’t work out, or isn’t the “right one”, you can always drive somewhere else.

To do that the most effectively, you must plan ahead. This is certainly no excuse to do NOTHING but plan; what I mean is that you need to make a solid plan and act upon it.

My favorite bible verse that talks on this subject is from the good ole book of Proverbs.

“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” - Proverbs 15:22

Everything I’m doing is because I’ve looked to others for advice. I constantly seek counsel from those who have accomplished what I want to do and those older and much wiser than me. It would be absolutely foolish for me to think that I could just jump out on my own and magically succeed.

I’m afraid it just doesn’t work that way.

Likewise, it would be foolish of me to think that anything I’ve accomplished is of my own striving. Anything I do is by God’s strength. If I were to try and do this on my own, yea maybe I’d succeed monetarily, but I know I wouldn’t be happy. I’d want more, and more, and more, and more, never being satisfied with what’s been given me. I’ve seen it in others - it ain’t pretty.

But because my perspective is this - that everything I have is truly a gift from God, I am SO grateful for it. I’m not boastful or full of condescending pride.

So now for the application. What’s a good way to do this planning?

1.) Make a list of priorities

What is the first thing you must accomplish in order to make your dream happen? Most likely it’s setting up the right day job situation so all your financials are taken care of. You don’t want to be scraping for money, so make sure your day job pays everything, or you at least have enough money saved up to pursue your passion full time for at least 5 months.

2.) Do your research

Like I said, you need to seek counsel in order to succeed. I love that saying, “we stand on the shoulders of giants”. So look to those giants. Find those people that are great in the field you want to pursue, and emulate their strategy. If you can, get in contact with them. A lot of the time, they’re willing to give a few pointers. Listen to podcasts, talk to friends, business owners and network like crazy! Social media is free marketing, use it!!

3.) Lay out a plan

Once you have the first steps taken care of and you’ve gathered as much information and inspiration as you possibly can, lay out a feasible plan. Set realistic time goals and things that you will accomplish within those time frames.

Next week I’ll wrap up this series with my final post about launching! It’s gonna be an exciting one.

As I’m writing this, I’m working on getting my day job situation set up such that I can pursue my passion. If you’ve been reading my blog you know I’ve been working on this for a few months now. I might have some news for you within the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for it!

Until then, have a great week friends!