Finish it before you start
By: Yinka Adeniran
Tags: Management, Planning

One of the principles of greatness is “to begin with the end in mind”

This will change everything we do and how we do it.

One of the major reasons why people remain in one spot for many years even though they seem to be very busy is because they do not begin their activities with a crystal clear end in mind.

Stephen Covey in his best selling books ‘7 habits of highly effective people’ puts this habit as number 2. For me, I think this is the most important habit of successful people.

Every successful person begins with the end in mind. They have a crystal clear picture of what they want to achieve in the end

If there is no end in mind, every other activity or work is meaningless.

There must first and foremost be a crystal clear end of what you want to achieve for all your daily or other activities to make sense.

A successful man was asked ‘Are you surprised you achieved this massive success….’ His answer was shocking, ‘No, I would have been surprised if we do not achieve this’ And for most successful people, this is true.

So, concerning your life, business, career and every other thing you care about, what is the end you have in mind?

What end can you see in 1 month, 1 year, 5 years and 10 years and so on?

What are the specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals and objectives you have properly set?

I believe this is the beginning of every successful adventure. You must know where exactly you want to end up…..for you to end up there.

I believe the picture of the future you have and can convert is your future for now.

KEEP DREAMING

Great people are intentional and deliberate about the kind of end they want to see with everything they are doing.

Like someone said, “ the best way to have a future is by creating one”.

A great future or end doesn’t just happen, it is created. Average people live by “what will be, will be” Great people live by what will be is up to me. Our decisions will shape our future.

This is what happens when you don’t begin with the end in mind. This is how many people live their lives and the get stuck at the end

The Story of a Man that Read his own Obituary

One morning in 1888 Alfred Noble, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error. You see, it was Alfred’s brother that had died and the reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother.

Any man would be disturbed under the circumstances, but to Alfred the shock was overwhelming because he saw himself as the world saw him. The “Dynamite King,” the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives. This, as far as the general public was concerned, was the entire purpose of Alfred’s life. None of his true intentions to break down the barriers that separated men and ideas for peace were recognized or given serious consideration. He was simply a merchant of death. And for that alone he would be remembered.

As he read the obituary with horror, he resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. This could be done through the final disposition of his fortune. His last will and testament would be the expression of his life’s ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him. The result was the most valuable of prizes given to those who had done the most for the cause of world peace. It is called today, the “Nobel Peace Prize.”

When you envision the end (outcome), it’s called imagination.

To unleash your greatness, you have to unleash your imagination.

We are all (end) products of our imagination, which is the fuel to our actions.

The point is don’t start before you finish it in your heart and on paper just like a builder will not start building without first finishing the design or the plan. Don’t just be ‘doing’ it. What’s the plan? To what end?