My favorite part of reading case studies and interviewing entrepreneurs over the past couple of months has been hearing a number of stories with a recurring theme. In dozens of variations, the stories usually sound like this:
“I was down to my last $400 and simply had to make it work…”
“I gave up the option to take a reduced role at my job and just went full-tilt…”
“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I finally overcame everything I was stalling on and just started …”
Refusing the backup plan is a key theme of many successful entrepreneurs and other heroes. A good backup plan creates safety, security and a fall-back option—things you don’t want when you’re trying to change the world.
Will Smith put it like this: “Your Plan B interferes with Plan A.” I like that. Why not stick with Plan A?
The Pilot, The Plan
Turning down the safe advice (“be careful, take your time,” etc.) makes some people uncomfortable. When you proceed full-on with no backup, you might encounter questions or supposedly unassailable examples of why backup plans are necessary.
You’ll hear something like “Airplane pilots always have a Plan B,” as if it’s an open-and-shut case that you’re wrong to chart a course without considering the contingencies. And when you are presented with such logic, you are expected to say: “Oh, you’re right! It really is better to play it safe. Gosh.”
But hold on a minute. Personally, I want my pilot to safely land the damn plane. Assuming that’s Plan A, I’m happy to stick with it. Anything else doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.
***
We can change our tactics and maybe even our strategy, but let’s not change the goal. The goal is: be awesome. Change the world. Win. In short: Your backup plan is your plan.
Don’t get me wrong; I know that change is a scary thing, and I don’t think prudence is inherently bad. If you need to proceed with caution, proceed away.
But I also know that sometimes the fail-safe plan gives us a safe way out of what we really need to do. It holds us back from greatness. And if there’s anything we don’t want when attempting something truly important, it’s that. Full speed ahead!
So how about you over there… what’s your plan?
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Image: Marmota
April 20, 2010
Phil
Chris – I don’t believe in back up plans. If we make the best choice that we have in every situation, the best plan will emerge. I admire your clarity about what you are doing and your conviction in executing. Thanks!
April 20, 2010
joanium
I love Marks & Spencer’s sustainability strategy called ‘Plan A: Because there is no Plan B’.
M&S are a large grocery food chain in the UK. I work in corporate sustainability and my opinion is that Plan A is a credible strategy (i.e. not greenwash).
April 20, 2010
Cynthia Morris
Here’s my backup plan:
Be as fit as possible. Eat well, practice yoga, get regular exercise and laugh as much as possible.
If I’m fit and healthy, I am agile and can respond to changes as they arise. It’s hard enough to make and stick with a primary plan, let alone a backup plan!
Andi, Good for you for going for something and then living through a not-so-planned result. There’s a lot to be said about that, and learned from it, for your next venture. Don’t stop trying!
April 20, 2010
daniel
It’s good to know that I am not alone in this thought – thanks. I was feeling down on myself last night and was thinking this morning that I have to get on with my life and start doing what makes me happy. Reading your email, points out that I’m stuck in my Plan B life and I’m not being awesome. I know what I should be doing and while I’m taking baby steps towards my Plan A, I need to be taking leaps and bounds towards my real life that’s being awesome
April 20, 2010
Chris
Oh yeah! For a lot of people (including myself), the lousy soul-crushing jobs they now have, started out as Plan B. Until I get the money to do this or that, I’ll make some money doing this “other thing”. Then the “other thing” becomes “the thing” because you don’t have time or energy to pursue your passion, which then just turns into dusty regret.
Some well-meaning friends and family almost always insist that you have the back-up plan, which is really just the plan they wish you’d go with in the first place, right? Plan B isn’t really about safety and security. I mean, who doesn’t want those things. It’s about fear. It’s about fear of failure and risk paralysis. Where Plan A comes from a place of “I can do this”, Plan B plants the belief that “I can’t do this”.
I’ve been living Plan B too long. I’m dusting off Plan A.
April 20, 2010
Regina
I think what Chris said sums it up well:
“Where Plan A comes from a place of ‘I can do this’, Plan B plants the belief that ‘I can’t do this’.”
If you have Plan B running in the back of your mind, you’re undermining yourself – subconsciously telling yourself that no, you really can’t do this. Plan B is self-sabotage.
For the first time, I don’t have a Plan B. I only have Plan A. And if Plan A should fail… well… I’ll just design another, better, bionic Plan A!
April 20, 2010
gabriela
Right ON, Chris! I say play big! Dream, Act and be in a cocreative dance with the Universe that IS awesome, excellent…that is the greatest win win we an give to the world. Playing it safe can translate into mediocrity, and an unlived life. No thanks. I love what wisdom teacher, Lee Lozowick says…”shake things up, take some action, generate movement, take some risks, show the Universe that you’re a player…Show the Universe that in spite of fear, in spite of appearances, you are willing to stay in the game…”
April 20, 2010
Jocelyn T.
Timely advice…. there are some days (like today!) where my determination flags a little and I am plunged into indecision and start to re-evaluate all my options and back-up plans again. What I need to do is simply stay strong and persevere, stick with my
A plan… it’s the one I really want, anyway. Thank you for reinforcing it for me!
April 20, 2010
Erica
A timely post for me, as well. My 18yo daughter is ready to be on her own, and that means I am free to leave here. I love to travel, to meet new people, see new places. Lately I’ve discovered that my focus is on traditional foodways, and how we can heal ourselves through our diet. I don’t want to do more school right now (just got my BA)…I want to go experience it all firsthand.
The backup plan I’ve been contemplating is to keep a small apartment here, stay on Housing and food stamps, and take short trips. But really, I want to jump off the cliff and just go! I did that in 2001, selling most of my “stuff” and buying a 6 month ticket to London. Those 6 months of traveling around mostly Scotland are among my most treasured memories. I’m ready to do it again.
Thanks for the urge to just do it. I think my angels showed this to me!
April 20, 2010
Omar
I use to always hear that one should have a backup plan and I use to think that it’s necessary. It’s scary. I guess it’s just being creative and going full throttle.
April 20, 2010
Ted Eleftheriou
Chris,
You’ve done it again! Great article.
As I’ve read many of the comments… it seems to be a topic that so many of us can relate to.
When I found myself unemployed over a year-and-a-half ago… I didn’t have time for a Plan B and that was probably the best thing that could have happened. Scary? Absolutely! Tough? Absolutely… especially when one has a family with a couple of wee ones to feed. Rewarding! Absolutely X 2! (although perhaps not initially)
There were many challenges at first and we had to adjust our lifestyle quite a bit to compensate for the decrease in finances… however… hanging in there, plowing through, sticking to Plan A,… the life of non-conformity is beginning to take shape!
April 20, 2010
Jim Greenwood
Hi Chris, Great post! And great comments!
Picture it. Prioritize it. Pursue it. One step at a time.
And … Have Fun, Jim
P.S. Don’t plan or worry about b, c or d … (they’ll just show up when the time is right).
April 20, 2010
Kelly Parkinson
I knew I wasn’t supposed to have a back-up plan, but I was so scared I made one anyway. My side business was to be a large-dog-running (not walking!) service called Slobbercize! I was going to promote it with an Olivia Newton John-inspired, sure-to-be-viral video of my dog dancing to Maniac, wearing a leotard. I created a website for it and everything. But after I gave notice at my job, my boss asked me if I’d help him and his family plan a trip to Africa, part-time from home. So that’s what I did for the first few months of my “independence.” I never thought of it as a back-up plan. More of a cash-flow, ramp-up plan while my business got its legs. Turns out I didn’t need it. But it was nice to have a magic feather. Kept me from feeling desperate in those early days.
April 20, 2010
Writer's Coin
Great post, especially the comparison to flying a plane. I’ve also noticed that very successful entrepreneurs all seem to hit that wall or have a huge failure that they overcome before truly succeeding. But that’s kind of scary: what will my failure look like? How will I react?
Hopefully I’ll just land the damn plane instead of bailing out.
April 20, 2010
James
I was thinking about this very thing today, timely advice indeed. My situation is a little more complicated as I am able to work from home. This gives me a lot of freedom and I get to see my 9-month old daughter all day. But I work for a small company with money issues and the work is not in any way fulfilling. None of it is what I want. I think that alone is probably enough.
April 20, 2010
Fran
I guess I’m the dissenter. It is my full-time job that makes pursuing my dream possible. It is not holding me back in the least. Maybe it is actually part of Plan A. I have been pursuing my dream of being a music photographer for the past year and a half. It’s a tough gig to make any money in. But I love it. At this stage of the game, it would not support me or pay my mortgage or my bills or even buy me the equipment that I’ve been able to acquire that helps me to be so good at what I do. Granted, I have a job that I like, is not taxing, and a schedule that fits in well with my passion. And once I do start making money from what I love, the job will be gone. But having it has given me the ability and the freedom to do the things that I want to do. And the time to build my reputation. If I didn’t have it, I might be like so many others who have had to abandon their dream and sell their equipment to pay their bills. Or even worse, have had to photograph weddings! YUK!
April 21, 2010
Wendy
I actually just got to reading this post today, but the title had been in my head since I first read it days ago. I understood the title to mean something different! I think sometimes when people are not living the life they want, they have in the back of their heads some sort of back-up plan that, if things changed and perhaps they lost their job, they would pursue _________. THAT is their plan. THAT is what they should be doing because discounting all external factors and all fears preventing them from making the change, they know what they would do. The back-up plan is the plan.
April 21, 2010
Wilson Usman
My plan is to work on what I can focus on this exact moment. I don’t know what could happen any time so that’s why I don’t worry about making future plans.
My current plan is to build my online business so it can create enough income for me to focus on traveling like you Chris. I currently don’t have a continuing income, but no problem I like taking risks and having to think creatively all the time.
April 21, 2010
Shauna
After considering what you said about pilots always having a backup plan, I’ve decided that pilots do not in fact have one. I would have to agree that Plan A is to land the plane safely. Being aware of alternate routes, etc is just that…..they are all paths that lead to Plan A. There is no Plan B
)
I think there are a lot of common phrases and sayngs out there that everyone just believes because they sound good. Just because people have been saying it for years doesn’t make it so. I wonder how many years people believed the earth was flat?!
April 21, 2010
Wyman
Chris tribe,
A month ago I would have disagreed with most of you. I was taught to always have a plan B. Now I realize a lot of the plan B’s are really part of plan A. For example a quick cash plan for businesses is just one part of the overall plan A.
If your plan A is the job you went to school for is starting your own business a plan B or an enlightened plan A seeing that plan A no longer works for most. Jobs are gone with the information revolution.
Make any sense?
April 22, 2010
Kjersten
Great post, Chris. I work in a very competitive field. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. My work is my heart. Whenever I get down about not having a certain success level yet, I remind myself that if I’m not successful with plan A, my plan B is to be working my butt off trying to make plan A successful. It always makes me giddy to think of it this way. It makes me happy both for where I’m at right now on the journey and also it motivates me to get working.
April 22, 2010
Jennifer Moore
I’m with Jeffrey and particularly Fran and some of the others. I’m taking small steps from within the framework of a soul-crushing day job. The key is, though, that I never overlook and opportunity for my True Plan A, even if it seems small. I’m responsible for keeping others fed and housed, so jumping in full force is just not an option; however, I do not let this stop me from making connections, building my portfolio, and learning my trades. Sometimes, I work a 7-day week, but that’s OK with me, because I know that some day, Plan A will be all I have.
April 22, 2010
Joe Oviedo
As always, just what I needed to hear. Thanks Chris! No looking back or sideways! just look ahead and go for it! We all already know what we need to do, and we, I, already know everything I needed to learn to achieve what I’m looking for.. so hands on! bring it! =D
April 23, 2010
Grace
Well, I have always been a “Plan B” person – and I am pretty happy with that. It depends on the person that you are.
April 23, 2010
John
A bad plan acted upon violently (or with complete commitment, if you are a pacifist) will often produce good results—Do Something. You blog is great, often times we just need to step out with a bad, aren’t they all, and move forward. Then as the world hits us and our plans needs revision, which it will, then revise and continue to move.
Thanks for your insight.
April 25, 2010
Nicolaï
Regarding my plan, my gf and I leave in 2 weeks for Taiwan. We’ll be working for ourselves there (thanks for the ideas and encouragement!) and living the dream. Now, we are packing and tying up loose ends before the trip. Nothing is being postponed, and I feel that things are unrolling in a good way. We are happy… excited about leaving, but not because the current moment is undesirable. Both are nice.
April 26, 2010
Susan Milligan
Hey! Thanks for this. Opening my shop again cause retirement seriously lacks a work ethic. This time nothing traditional, the shop will be over the top and dripping with Flair. Outrageous but dignified. No plan B. No backdoor. No worries. Whatever evolves is what it will be. Great to have read you this morning, Chris.
April 26, 2010
Lorraine M Wright
TRAVEL HACKING POST: I would be MOST interested in you creating a membership site for travel hackers. I am SO grateful to you for the US Miles stickers promo. LOVE having 900,000 miles and I recently purchased another one of their promos and received another lovely bonus.
LMW
April 27, 2010
Jay
I get caught too often in only partly jumping into things- one foot in the water and one firmly planted on safe ground. I took a step to leave my job last September but got talked into staying part-time, and part-time I have been since then… Furthermore, I haven’t really run with my plans like I wanted to in the time I am not working that job.
Thanks for this post, it has really reminded me that I need to jump in fully and stop clinging onto my safety nets.