Please DO NOT have plan B

Jack: ‘’I decided to quit my job after six months to pursue my dream of starting my own business’’.

Peter: ‘’Congratulations!! But isn’t this a hard and risky decision? And what are you going to do if it didn’t work out?’’

Jack: ‘’I believe I considered everything, and I also have a Plan B’’.

And as soon as Jack announced that he had a Plan, he did not recognize that he just made his first step towards failing in his dream or, in other words, his business idea.

Having a plan B in some life situations is helpful and amazing, but in other situations like the one above, it can backfire.

As an example, when you are searching for a place to have dinner, a place to travel to on vacation, or even if you are working at a company, and you need to make a hard decision that might have severe consequences, then ‘’plan B’’ might be a good idea.

But in an example like the one shown above, the so-called ‘’Plan B’’ works as a disadvantage more than an advantage.

Why?

Simple, because as soon as you know that you have another option and the going gets tough (and it will), you will not fight to keep plan ”A” alive, and you will simply turn to plan B and drop your dream. This is because of the natural inclination within us as human beings to take the easy road.

Have you ever passed through a situation where you took the easy road or plan B, instead of being persistent and sticking to your original dream until you succeed?

I can assume that almost every one of us passed through a life-defining moment where we did not fight for Plan A and switched to plan B only because it’s the easier, faster, and maybe a guaranteed option.

In contrast, if you believed in yourself, stopped expecting the worst to happen as well as stopped looking at the dark, pessimistic side of it, and invested your time in getting your idea to work instead of thinking about Plan B, your brain will eventually find ways to get your main plan working. Even more, you will give your brain a signal that you expect no other options and nothing else but success.

Let me give you an example. Ever wondered why some people achieved great success and became celebrities even though they were financially broke and had very humble beginnings? If you check the autobiographies of these people, you will see a common pattern. Due to their life circumstances, they were not allowed lots of options or plans, so they had to go only after one plan.

And for most of them, it was only one chance to survive and to stand up on their feet, so they directed all their efforts and mental power to grab this chance and never let it go.

Ever heard about the famous ‘‘Rocky’’ movie series? Millions of people know Rocky Balboa and Sylvester Stallone, but very few know the inspiring story behind both.

Stallone was born paralyzed in the lower left part of his face, including parts of his lips, tongue, and chin. As a result of this, his speech had not the perfect diction you would expect from an actor. In the mid-1970s, he went to New York to pursue his dream of being an actor, but he found nothing but closed doors. He was broke, so he had to sleep for three weeks at the New Jersey bus terminal. He even sold his beloved dog and ‘’best friend’’ for $25 to survive.

One day, while watching a Muhammad Ali match, he got an idea for a screenplay. He worked on it without sleeping for a whole weekend, and after three days of work, the script was ready. One of the first offers he got was $125,000 for the movie rights, but the producers didn’t want him to act in it. But this wasn’t his dream, so he rejected it and walked away. He dared to refuse such an offer, even if he was so broke. After a few weeks, they offered $350,000, but he refused again. Eventually, they accepted to let him act in the movie, but with a very low salary for a leading role, only $35,000.

After earning his first money, he tracked down the person he sold the dog to, and bought back his best friend, spending $15,000. The dog also starred in the movie; you can see him in the famous scene with Rocky running up the stairs.

Rocky movie went on to be one of the most successful movies of all time and was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Stallone. The film went on to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Film Editing.

Now, tell me how much are you willing to take the hits until you reach your goal?