you must adjust your sails

Back in World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” This holds true not only for the battlefield but in our work and life as well. No plan stays intact once we start executing. We have to be willing to adjust our strategy because reality can always surprise us. 

Of course, planning is crucial for success. It helps us map our journey, prepare for any setbacks, and gather resources that we need to achieve success. However, until we execute, we don’t really know how things will work out. 

Whether you have a side hustle, own a small business or manage a multi-million dollar company, you have to understand that if you don’t adapt to the modern marketplace, your venture will perish. You must be like a bamboo tree, rigid but flexible. Bamboos are hard and strong, yet when the heavy winds blow, they sway with them but stay rooted firmly in the ground. Going with the flow, accepting, not opposing, what is not in your control, and bending and being flexible instead of breaking — these virtues can help you attract greater success.

It’s good to track analytics so that we know where we are right now. But stats are useless if we don’t use them to improve our approach. Success is hardly a linear path. We must be willing to navigate around roadblocks, boulders and storms on our path if we want to reach our destination.