Ask HN: do you have a five year plan? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: do you have a five year plan?

7 pointsjaxn8 comments

I am starting to get a pretty clear picture of what I want my 5 year plan to be. The thing is, I would like to formalize it a little to help me think through and solidify things.

So I am wondering how many HNers have a somewhat formal five year plan and if so, how did you go about creating it?

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Yes. The book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill does exactly this. It's an oldie but goodie.

http://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Napoleon-Hill/dp/04492...

It's how Bruce Lee set his goal:

I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental Super Star in the United States. In return I will give exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.

Bruce Lee

January 1969

At $0.99 for Kindle, I have to check it out.

I'm lucky if I know where I will be next year!

I've moved state and across the world in the last 8 years and if you told me 6 months ago I would be in Brisbane, I would have said 'whatever!'.

Just stay open and keep your eyes sharp. We've got the chance that we can have 14 lives packed in one nowadays, while our parents have barely moved town.

I appreciate that and have lived it for some time.

Now I am in my 30s, have kids, own a profitable business, etc. I have improvised my way here with vague goals that I have pretty much attained. I have a pretty clear picture of where I want to be next (at least as an entrepreneur) and have heard people who set goals do better.

You can write a business plan on a piece of scrap paper, or you can follow a format. I am wondering if there are formats out there for personal planning.

There is a great self-help book I can recommend: 'How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life' by Alan Lakein

Its about planning and he gives a lot of useful tips, both long-term and short term.

see the discussion here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1023655

When I wanted a career it was much easier to make a realistic plan, but now that I am doing my startup anything I can say is just a random guess. It still may be worth doing but the benefit is in the act of planning (and continual re-planning) and not in "getting it right". Sort of like agile for your life.

I do, but it's not fixed. Just a goal - "I want to achieve this using that, but not the precise details".

i'll be about half-way through my ten year plan.

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