Make the plan, then begin before you’re ready

“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.”

Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, “Desire”

That line is the fourth of six steps in the chapter on Desire. The other five are just as plain. Be exact about what you want. Decide what you’ll give in return. Put a date on it. Write it out as one clear statement. Then read that statement aloud, every morning and every night.

Hill wrote the steps about money, but they fit any goal. None of them waits for a better moment. An exact goal can be checked, and a dated goal can be late. A first step done today means the plan has already started, and it can get better as it goes.

How to do it in the planner today

1. Say the goal, exact and dated. “Add goal cook 20 new dinners by the end of March.” It goes into Goals in your words, date and all. Tap Edit on it, keep the name, and set the target number to 20.
2. Name the first step, and put it on today. “Add choose this week’s recipe.” It lands on today’s list.
3. Begin. Tick the step when it’s done. After the first new dinner, tap + Progress on the goal, and it reads 1 of 20.

Hill’s last step was to read the goal aloud, twice a day. In this planner, saying it out loud is how it goes in.

Goals are on the free plan, up to three.