How the plumbing is just as important as the poetry

A podcast I listened to recently made me sit back in my chair, shocked, happy and a little bit validated. It was Ali Abdaal's discussion with the rugby legend Dan Carter. The key message being that "the plumbing is just as important as the poetry". So what does this mean?

Essentially the plumbing is what is probably seen as the more boring work of creating structure and having robust systems in place to help you perform at your absolute best throughout the week. Time blocking, preparing for challenges and setting expectations for what you will do and when you will do it. Planning at its very core.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The poetry on the other hand is the story you create, your purpose or your why as the great Simon Sinek calls it. This is way more intangible and is something that you can't typically achieve. For Dan Carter he wanted to be an All Blacks great, something where there is not a top 5 or top 10 forever updated. He just needed to be at his absolute best for as long as possible to remain in the conversation as "an all black great".

"He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how" Friedrich Nietzsche

The key message that hit home with me was that you can't have the poetry without the plumbing and vice versa. The poetry alone is just a nice story with no action. Intention without forward motion. And the plumbing alone is just drudgery and never leads to achieving anything of a higher purpose or you very rarely reach the potential you truly can.

Dan also explained how during his playing career, there were a number of things that helped him to maintain focus and continue to be part of the NZ team that dominated rugby. These were:

• Using goals is a simple way to create a personal purpose (the poetry).
• Understand your values as this will change the way you approach you goals.
• You then need to break your goals down (the plumbing) in such a way that it makes them enjoyable still and there is a genuine reward at the end.
• Regular gratitude.
• Having weekly reviews so that you can maintain your correct course to your goals.

What hit me like a tonne of bricks is that this forms the majority of the structure we use at Semester Student Planner and Growth Planner Co. to create the highest personal impact with lasting change. Our framework goes a little like this:

• Creating a mind map of goals, 3-month, 1-year and lifetime.
• Breaking 3-4 of these goals down in detail. What is the goal, what is the motivation, what will your next steps be and how will you celebrate this?
• Create a vision board. Something more loose and more visual. How do you want your life to look in 10, 15 or even 20 years time.
• Your future self. Define the values, standards and behaviours that you will need to achieve the above goals and vision.
• Monthly and daily planning (some more of the plumbing). Within this we package, gratitude, goal setting and a level of balance. All areas that Dan touched on with his own systems to create extraordinary performance.
• Weekly self-reflection. This is the one that stands out for me and I believe is what sets us apart from most other planner companies.

Hopefully you can see the similarities between our framework and what one of the rugby greats used to create their own supreme performance. Now I'm not saying that we can all become an elite athlete as there is always an innate talent that needs combining with hard work, but it was the similarities in the structures that validated me in how we carefully craft our planners and the framework we use to help individuals unlock their full potential. Whether you want to open your own business, climb the corporate ladder or even just find more balance and happiness in your life, I believe we have cracked the code somewhat. It still won't be perfect for everyone, but it is pretty universal and I would happily give any user there money back if they did not see a notable improvement in their performance or well-being using our framework.

But it doesn't end there. Our secret sauce in addition to all that is our Growth Hacks, that help introduce users with scientifically proven techniques to improve performance and manage their well-being. Taken from some of the greatest leaders in the world, tried and test by myself and Joe Hilton throughout our own journey. Fortunately Dan didn't have to worry about this as he had the whole might of the New Zealand rugby behind him with defined physical performance and rehabilitation programmes as well as skills drills laid out. But if your looking for that coaching in a more day to day environment, that is what our Growth Hacks offer you. You have the plumbing, the poetry and your very own personal coach, all at your finger tips.

If you want to test this for yourself in the New Year, we are actually making a small number of our Growth Planners available to the public. You will not only receive the planner, but the full support of our head coach Joe Hilton , published personal growth author and public speaker. If you want to transform 2024, follow the link below ??

Invest in your 2024 by clicking Here