Too often, people rely on their plan B’s to bail them out of difficult situations. A plan B is the biggest reason a plan A doesn’t work out. Having your back against the wall where success is the only option causes people to perform at peak level and find a way to succeed no matter how difficult it gets. When there is a fallback plan, when you aren’t all in on seeing something through, it is a one way ticket to failure. In the beginning of our lives, we are told by teachers and parents that “Anything is possible!”. As we get older, this quickly morphs into, “Be more realistic! Always have a backup plan in case it doesn’t work out!”. This mindset kills the spirit of most people, and they become scared of anything perceived on a broader scale to be “risky”. Contrary to this teaching, human beings perform the best under the most pressure to perform. This peak level of performance can only be unlocked by being all in on plan A.
The shift from anything is possible to realistic
When we are young, we grow up with everyone telling us we can be anything we want to be. As a result, our imaginations run wild with the possibilities of what we can achieve. “I want to be an astronaut!” “I want to be the president!” “I want to be a professional baseball player!” Of course, these are dreams, but dreams are powerful and can drive people to do great things even if it isn’t exactly what they originally intended to do. As we get older, teachers and parents start to stifle our imagination, telling us to be more “realistic”, and pick a career that is “safe”. This perspective shift clogs up the creative juices within us and relegates us to become everyday Joes instead of creating a life for ourselves to our fullest potential. The true value we can bring to the world comes from our imagination and our ability to manifest those ideas into reality. Society really misses out on some extraordinary people by taking this approach to education in a youth’s adolescent age. In addition to being more realistic, we are also told to have a plan B in case plan A doesn’t work out. In reality, the only reason plan A might not work out is that you spent so much time worrying about it not working out that you focused your energies so heavily on preparation for failure instead of pursuit of success. With this mindset, the expectation is failure. The out these people take is blaming everything else for their failure instead of themselves and their mindset. They blame the economy, a certain politician, their customer, etc. Everyone and everything but themselves. The hard truth is the reality of why they failed is because of themselves and the scarcity mindset that was instilled in them by their parents and teachers in their adolescent years. This mindset is the killer of dreams and creativity and needs to be defeated to be successful.
Going all in on plan A
This post is not to say your original plan won’t change. You as a person will always be evolving and growing and with that your outlook on life and decisions you wish to make with it will go through this same evolution. By no means does this mean you need to conform to something “realistic”, or fall back on a plan B. If anything, it means more so that you should be all in on plan A. For me, my plan A is investing in real estate. My journey evolved from listening to BiggerPockets podcasts on the way back and forth to and from college, to becoming a realtor to get my feet wet, and eventually taking the dive into full-time real estate investing. Luckily, I was able to save enough from the realtor stage of my evolution to gear up for what was ahead on my investing journey. I was also blessed with an amazing support system that had and continues to have my back throughout the entire process. The first 8 months were rough. From January until August I didn’t have a single closing. I DoorDashed a good amount on the weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), to supplement my income for the time being. I lived on very thin margins. I didn’t go out. I didn’t order food. I stayed home, learned, and worked. I never gave myself a plan B. I knew that if I had a backup plan of any sort, it would distract me from achieving plan A. By pushing my back up against the wall to be successful at real estate investing, I solidified that I would be successful. Everything I did and continue to do is a step toward achieving that goal on an even higher level. Right now, I have 5 closings scheduled for a total of 43 units and 40 acres of land in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 3 closings are this week alone! We are working on creating a system for a constant influx of deals with the goal of at least one contract a week. This goal will only become more lofty as we develop our systems to a higher degree. None of this would have been possible if I had given myself the out of having a plan B.
Of course, everyone’s life situations are different and by no means am I telling anyone to quit their job immediately especially if they have a family to support currently. What I am saying however is that if you have a dream, make it your number one priority. Don’t settle for a plan B and live a mediocre life. Sacrifice will be necessary. You won’t have much free time if any at all and that’s okay. That comes with achieving anything worthwhile. Once your circumstances let you, quit your job and then take the plunge head first. Never let someone tell you your dreams are too big and unrealistic. Those who live their lives based off of limiting beliefs love company to share their value system. For the sake of your success, don’t oblige.