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49 Replies to “Your 25 Year Plan”

  1. hey jeff,

    totally agree with you here. goal-setting and planning are useful in setting a direction in life, and hopefully inspiring us to continually move into that direction consciously or subconsciously. what helps me is not just planning, but visualizing a future, e.g. collecting photos of what my ideal future might look like and also revisiting my vision once a week or once a month. that’s particularly important, because it stays on top of your mind and reminds you to take actions towards your goals.

    you mentioned a few people like tony robbins. who else do you follow?

    looks a bit chilly where you are. back home?

    cheers,

    andy

    • Thx and Mahalo from Maui
      My grandmother ( Tutu ) raised me & she was a healer. Once we went to heal a fisherman who was at his deathbed that looked like he was about to die. We prayed for him & left. Later I asked my Tutu what was in her prayer for this dying fisherman that might help him. She said in her prayer she tasted the fish he would bring her when he was healed . She could smell the fish and here the joy in his voice when he would come to share his fish . She called it Huna- the Secret. We now call it visualization . For her it was more that just visual , she could taste , smell & hear the fish & the joy of his sharing
      GK from Kahakuloa Maui

  2. I love this idea. I often plan for a year or a few years but I have never thought long range. Thank you for the idea. I am going to incorporate this into my year end planning.

    • Jeff is absolutely right about “plan is nothing”, but it discourage many people from setting them.
      I chose the vision of my life, for life, not just 25 next years and articulated it in personal mission statement.

  3. “I want to plan my life and build the road to get there” Awesome when it’s put like this!

  4. Great video Jeff. Planning ahead always has great benefits because it makes you think deeply about what to expect in the coming years.

  5. this is what my involvement with PLF is all about. I am 72, so 25 years personally is meaningless. But my organization, Choose Again (www,choose-again.com) very much benefits from planning. The program (one of several) I am rolling out in a few weeks will address that issue: “Mastery and Purpose” will be a two year training leading to a certification as a Certified Choose Again Coach.

  6. Hi Jeff,
    good presepctive!
    If you had to recommend one thing from Dan Sullivans ressources (Books, articles, videos etc.) what would that be?
    Regards
    Hans

    • Hans, I was in Dan Sullivan’s program for several years. The best and most important concept is the Entrepreneurial Time System. Bureaucratic time and those who work for a bureaucracy, whether business, government or some other bureaucracy, get paid for time and effort. Entrepreneurs who operate under entrepreneurial time only get paid for the value they deliver to their people and their customers. Entrepreneurs do this through a time system of free days, focus days and buffer days. Free days are days of no work. Focus days are days consisting of your most important money making activities and buffer days are all the miscellaneous work that you have to do to have great Free Days and Focus Days. One goal is to increase your Free Days and Focus Days as much as possible so you can focus on what matters most to you so you can always be on purpose. I hope this helps.

      • Thanks for those details Bill. I tend to divide the hours in a day like that, but a day theme seems to allow for deeper focus.
        I would imaging several days in a row would be even greater.

  7. Absolutely Jeff! You nailed it. And indeed, we don’t know how the world will be but we can choose how we want to feel or how we want certain areas of our life to be. And get excited about it 🙂

  8. Hi Jeff!!

    I think it’s difficult for me right now. I have so much going on right now. Holly course, book to write and other to revise. My life in 5 years will be different and if I’m able to take you course next time you start again.

    Totally my life will be different, but I think until there, 25 is too much but next 5 years. Yes that for sure… My goal, is to let go of my day job and work as a writer and stay home with kids 🙂

    Thanks

    Nadine Travers

  9. A definite challenge to design the next 25 years. Quarterly, yearly, 3 year plans have worked well. 25 years will stretch me. Excited.

  10. Fantastic idea and challenge Jeff.

    I am 64. Planning to age 89 is quite reasonable. As important, suppose if I do it and set an example for my son and younger friends.

    By the way Diederik, at your 72-years, I do not think a 25-year plan is meaningless but it would be a consideration in your timeline. Scratch running the Boston Marathon. George Burns planned for 100+ and he did it – full of life. If time is short, how about legacies.

    Jeff, thanks for this inspiring video.

  11. Jeff- Thanks for a fantastic video! such a timely topic and I love how you present it so passionately and rationally. I’ll “go get ’em” like you said! xx Lirone , Business Networking Coach

  12. Right on Jeff…. planning your life is absolutely essential for success and happiness. All the great thinkers and leaders do this systematically. And SYSTEM is the key…. only 5% of people plan their lives, but those that do, have peace of mind, success and happiness.

  13. Twenty five years ago, I graduated from college and was in my first “real” job learning hard lessons about money and office politics. I never would have visualized my current life. So Now that I have that experience, I’m going to try to think outside my comfort box and find think where I want to be in another 25 years. This time, I’m going to think really big.

  14. Hey planning is a good for my vision for next year. It help bring about what I want for the years after next year.

  15. Jeff,
    Thank you for the idea of creating a 25 year plan. Over Thanksgiving I had created 2015 plan. I now need to add 24 more years.

    This is not a concept only for young people. It applies to all ages.

    I love the idea that I am the architect of the road that leads to the life that I crave.

    P.S. In December of 2010, I listened to a pod cast by Dan Sullivan on the “Entrepreneurial Time System.” It dramatically changed the direction of my business; more so, my personal life. I’m now married and in the best relationship of my life. All because I devote 1 to2 “Free Days” to my family. Tell Dan, “Thank You.” Thanks for reminding me of where I got this powerful system.

  16. Frances Avalos

    Reply

    My mother just passed at 96.5 so, at 74,
    I feel like there is plenty of time to make a plan for at least 29 years!! Grandma Moses didn’t start until she was 79…starting to plan tonight! The plans I made in the past ALWAYS got me to where I wanted to be….Looking forward to this exercise.

  17. Jeff, thanks for the 25 year planning horizon concept from Dan Sullivan. I can agree with you that Dan is one of the best strategic thinkers of our time as I was in his program for a number of years. Here is a short video of Dan talking about the 25 year concept: http://blog.strategiccoach.com/use-25-year-time-frame-accomplish-without-stress/.

    Keep providing great ideas.

  18. Hey Jeff, nice video and I agree eith you. So many days we found ourselves with a lot of questions… And the andwer can be found in the time we take to breath and putting our ideas down on a paper and making a plan, even thou you won’t ever look at it again, you can start the process in your mind 🙂 loved it Jeff! You’re always sharing great insights

  19. Thanks for the inspiration, Jeff, to stretch my future pacing way out. I think of a phrase I collaged onto my vision board for abundance: Earn An Income And Create A Legacy. I’ll be 80 in 25 years, and I imagine myself at that time as a vibrantly healthy, actively engaged wise woman grandmother who builds a legacy through writing, coaching, speaking and teaching publicly to inspire others to live their most vibrant lives. I’m learning some great tools, strategies and modalities that are supporting this vision as I activate for my best year ever in 2015, which is laying the foundation for each successive year to be the best ever, on all levels.

  20. Jeff – 25 years go I created a plant for my life. For real. I created myself to be the person on the planet that that is responsible for transforming our food system. That was in the fall of 1991 AND it has been one heck of a ride. It has been interesting to follow my path and see how everything along the way has lead to me becoming the person that I am today following the path that I set in place in 1991. I run UrbanFarm.org, have an international reach with my students, offer online classes in urban farming and gardening and LOVE what I do. Thanks for this video as a reminder that I need to set in motion the plan for the next 25 years.

  21. i laughed when you said, don’t just plan your next email lol. Cause that’s totally where i’m at Jeff. When you say 25 years i’m like wow…. I’ll be 55 years old then.. no 57!! See? I can’t even count that high lol. I can only pray that time as we know it will stop before we get there…. seriously 🙂 But thank for always being an inspiration. I just finished reading your PLF book and i loved it.

  22. Great concept…a 25-year planning horizon. Mind-boggling but important. A few years ago I drafted a book with a working title of “What we can learn about life from Lewis and Clark”. The premise was this: Lewis and Clark were the great explorers of the early 1800’s who, under orders from President Jefferson, explored the huge unknown territory of the western US (became the Louisiana Purchase). Their ultimate goal was simple…find a water passage to the Pacific Ocean. Anyway the story is how they perservered in the face of massive unknowns (there were no maps at all, in fact the prevailing theory of the west at the time was that wholly mammoths inhabited the region and there were many volcanoes (unfamiliar on the east coast). 3 years and 4000 miles later they returned having traversed the region and lost only one man to natural causes. The point? You don’t know what is ahead but if you make reasonable preparations, have a clear goal and don’t turn back at the first sign of difficulty, you can achieve greatness. To me that is a metaphor for a life well-lived.

  23. 25 years is a long way [I’m in my 60’s!] so for me an easier way was to imagine ‘my ideal self’ a long way ahead. I can leave behind all the worries and insecurities in an imaginary ideal self because I am operating in my strengths – it feels good. There is a state of flowing within my strengths. Allocating 15+ min each day for some days and writing about 1 aspect of my life in my ideal self each day showed new aspects. Really good value. Thanks for reminding me to revisit this Jeff.

  24. Decades ago I learned from the U.S. auto industry to plan for one quarter at a time. Maybe it’s time for me to expand that time line a bit.

  25. Jeff, I love how you make things so clear. We teach our kids if they’re not keeping an eye on the ball then they’ll probably not catch it but the same goes for our lives. Planning for 25 years is like setting up a long-term target that you have to keep your eye on. The path will change but planning to hit the target is so important. Thanks for all your insight!

  26. I love that you’re talking about the importance of planning. This is something that I feel very strongly about and teach about in my productivity work. In fact, that quote you mentioned (George Harrison) “If you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will get you there,” that’s one of my keys whenever someone tells me they don’t have time to plan. … live is too short. We don’t have time NOT to plan. Thanks for speaking up on this topic Jeff. I’m just working on my first pre-launch using your formula… and it’s ALL about the planning! Short and long-term!

  27. Hi Jeff! Many thanks for the strong support.I ‘ve read all comments and thank to all peaple here.
    I did that experiment and it works.I wish happy and a hit targeted to goal for all of us.

  28. Jeff is absolutely right about the value of a plan. You have to plan to succeed, otherwise you can easily fail. Setting milestones to accomplish goals, in my opinion, is crucial.

  29. Inspiring comments! Thank you everybody! When I can turn my sound on when its not so early here (husband sleeping) I will watch this video. Sounds inspiring and legacy vision creating.

  30. Dear Jeff,
    I just finished reading your book – ” launch ”
    I want to thank you for such a wonderful book , I feel that this is exactly what I needed .
    I have a new business (3 months ) and I intend to implement the launch of a book I’m writing – “thinner”. I’m so excited:-)

    Eti Refaeli
    Shrinking Women

  31. John Barnes

    Reply

    Jeff, While I have been trying to look at planning the next 5-10, I haven’t thought about the next 25 years; mainly because at that time I would be 100 years ol. Peace. John Barnes.

  32. True! I have been asked, “how could anyone have done so much in one lifetime?” I’ve been asked that more than once, by people who have a hard time believing that I have done everything that I have.

    They did not know that I was slow in my development and am dyslexic as well. When I look back at my life I see that they dyslexia was actually not a disability at all, because it forced me to do many other things in order to appear ‘normal’ and to compete with ‘normal’ people.

    One of the most very important things that I have done is in scheduling, time management, and in planning, which I started doing seriously in the late 1970’s. I have plans for daily, weekly, monthly, annual, three, five, and ten year goals, and lifetime goals.

    Life time goals are the target; it is where you want to end up. That can change a little–as you change–but if you do a deep search on your core BAV system (beliefs, attitudes and values), and select goals in line with the best version of yourself that you know, you may find that they change only a little.

    If you have a goal for a shorter term, and it doesn’t take you towards your life goals, then it deserves extra attention, because either it diverts you from where you want to end up, or you don’t really want to end up where you think you do.

    Your long term goals feed back into your daily tasks, and daily tasks multiplied by many days achieve long term goals. A 25 year goal for a young person might seem like a long time. Not so long for an older person who sometimes does not expect to live even that long. But lifetime goals work for everyone, and a 25 year plan is a stepping stone for many.

    Thanks for sending out the videos and keeping us posted and in touch with good ideas!

  33. I totally agree that both short and long-range planning is very important. I am definitely a planner…..maybe too much. As a Christian, I have come to believe through experience that the time I spend praying is more profitable (minute for minute) than the time I spend planning. God can accomplish more as it relates to my future through prayer than I could ever imagine accomplishing through planning. For those who are people of faith, I encourage you to spend more time praying and less time planning and programming. We’ve all heard…….”Fail to plan – plan to fail.” I would say, “Fail to pray – plans will fail.” Blessings!

  34. I’ve known you for several years, read your stuff, & watched many of your videos … but this one, the 25 year plan, was the most humble, genuine, & heart to heart message I’ve ever seen of yours. Simply loved it. Thanks. Shlomo

  35. We all need a plan! I agree with you 100%. Years ago I might not have said that because my name was Easy Rider. Everything was cool and I was with my friends. That is all I wanted at that time. People teach other people, what they have learned throughout their life. But I am a prodigy. My father had to go to work when he was eight years old. So just imagine how my life went as I was growing up. It was great!

    Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. HO HO HO

  36. Thanks Jeff… Mortality is a funny thing, it could scare you, or it could motivate you… I chose the latter, and I started living the live I wanted… I have not looked back. I say live like a wizard! (they live backwards and already know their outcome…)

  37. A vision seems like a good idea.

    And planning seems like a good idea.

    I think we need to have regular times of review of the plan. Otherwise we can get obsessive and miss opportunities.

  38. Hey Jeff, planning for 25 years sounds super intimidating my friend.

    Maybe it wasn’t to you when your mentor first told you about it but life can be so drastic sometimes that everything can change in a split second.

    I’ll take your advice though and instead of planning 1 year ahead like I normally do, I’ll try to do 5 years instead.

    I’m 100% sure I’ll try to become a dad, start my own company and quit my current job, that’s a given but I still need to think about a few more important events to think about… probably paying for my first house or living abroad, not sure yet.

    Anyway, thanks for the inspiration, best regards!

    Sergio

  39. Enita Okeme

    Reply

    Wonderful video, Jeff. I planned short -1 year, medium -5 years & long term -10 years since I was 21, then started another cycle of same to build on past. But never dreamt of planning for 25 yesrs at a go. I’m 62+ & my mother just passed on @ 92+ last October very strong & healthy: physically, emotionally, spiritually & mentally acutely alert. I should surpass her record given current/future tech. Thanks to you & Sullivan, I’ll plan for 35 years in writing & visit it every 90 days for analysis, strategy, evaluation etc. Many thanks from us in Nigeria.

  40. Rob McLennan

    Reply

    Excellent Video and idea. I turned 75 a couple of months ago. Then I planned the next five years around my general objectives, and 2015 in more detail. Great idea Jeff – I’m going to plan the next 25 years. Why not?? Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

  41. “If you don’t know the harbor you’re headed for, no wind is the right wind.” – Seneca.

    My 25 year goal, for which I don’t need to do much thinking, is:
    Create a (passive) income stream that will allow me to feel financially covered, while living humbly and giving away a significant portion of that money for philanthropic causes. As a much smarter man than me in my company says: “Simple and humble”.

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