Want to truly succeed in 2022 ? Then don't have any back-up plans....

I left shipping in 2009 to pursue the next phase of my career

?Some of you may recollect that 2009 was the midst of sub-prime mortgage crisis

?Probably the biggest financial crisis the world had ever seen

?Almost everyone, including my family, thought it was a foolish decision

?Leaving a well-paying, well-settled job during the peak of an economic crisis

Was it a big risk ?

Yes, it was !

Was it scary ?

Hell YES ! It was scary and it was crazy !!

I was not even sure if I will even get a job

And on top of it, I had taken an education loan

While I left shipping, I had a choice to keep my Captain’s license valid

That would have given me the cushion to go back to sailing on ships, had my new career not worked out

That would have been my ideal back-up plan

But you know what I did ?

I let my Captain’s license expire when I left sailing

Why ?

Because I don't believe in having back-up plans

I am an ALL-IN type of person

Same thing happened when I left my high-flying corporate career with a global investment bank to start my coaching practice

I did not have any alternate job offer in hand. My coaching practice was not setup

Again, almost everybody around me thought it was a foolish decision

But I went all-in to start and build my practice

Let's be honest....

Most of us want to play safe and secure

We have plan A, plan B and even plan C

But this is such a flawed approach as it sabotages success on every level

Here’s why

When you have a back-up plan:

..You’re already thinking of failure as an option

..You never give your 100%, because you know you have a fallback option

Now consider what happens when you DON’T have a back-up plan:

..You give your 110% in whatever you do

..You are not playing the safe game. You are out there in the open

..You challenge yourself and push yourself more

..You skin is truly in the game

You will NOT allow anything to come in between your goals and your dreams because...

When you don’t have a back-up plan, you have no other option, but to succeed

It can create a very strong sense of desire, motivation and commitment

Obviously, this approach comes with a high degree of risk involved

“What happens if things don’t work out as planned ?”

“What if I fail ?”

The key is to distinguish situations which warrant a back-up plan v/s situations where you should go all-in

And you can use two types of filters to make that distinction :

1)???Is there a personal goal involved ? Something you truly want ?

2)???How much influence you have on the outcome ? The greater your personal influence, the greater should be your commitment to go all-in

Let’s take a few examples :

When you are working from home, you want uninterrupted power supply. So you have power back-up / UPS installed, right ?

There’s no personal goal as such as and you don’t have any influence on when power will go. So having a back-up makes sense

On the other hand, let’s say you enter into a new relationship with someone

There’s no concept of back-up plans in a relationship

If you truly like the person and you want to build a healthy and loving relationship, you go all-in. You do everything possible to make it work

The success of the relationship depends on both of you, but you have a great degree of influence on how that relationship shapes up, right ?

Let’s take another example from personal life

Say you have a fitness goal ( e.g. reduce 10 kgs weight )

Now some of you may be content with even 5 kg weight reduction and call it off

But if you truly want to bit fit and healthy, you go all-in. No matter what it takes, no matter how challenging it might be….

Now let’s examine an example from professional life

Say you have a job offer from company A. But there’s another company B, which you really want to join

You have been selected for the interview with company B

Now if you have this notion of a back-up plan in mind, then there is a chance that you will not approach this interview with a strong sense of energy and passion, because in your mind, you already know that you have another offer, so if this does not work out, you are probably OK

But if company B is the company where you truly want to be and you don’t consider the offer from company A as a back-up, then the way you will approach the interview will be very different – your energy levels, your passion, your body language will reflect a high degree of commitment to make it happen

Now you may still not make it through – that’s a possibility, but at least your approach to the interview will be different

Now extend the same example further…

Let’s say you get through company B, they make you an offer and join

And let’s say your offer from company A is still valid for another month or so

In company B, you find it very challenging to integrate in your new role initially

It’s a very tough environment and within 2 weeks or so, you realize that this might be a very challenging journey for you

You might want to give up, quit and take up the offer from company A

That would be an easier option, the path to least resistance. It is possible, right ?

But imagine if you had declined the offer from company A

Now you don’t have a back-up plan

So you have no other option, but to really pull it through, no matter how tough it might seem

More than that, this is the company where you wanted to work, so you will have to succeed

You see….

The absence of a backup plan creates a strong sense of desire and intention

Obviously, success is not guaranteed in any case, but it does NOT really matter

It is that?commitment to go all-in that counts

It is the?effort?that you put in to make it happen?that counts

Now you may not agree with this approach because your default state is to have backup plans for everything, because you are looking for safety, comfort and security

But that’s OK, since my intent isn’t to seek agreement, but to challenge you to succeed?

This is that time of the year when you usually make business plans and set goals for next year, so here’s what you can reflect upon :

1)???Think of a personal or professional goal which is really important for you in 2022

2)???What will it take for you to go all-in to achieve this goal ? No back-up plans

3)???Ask yourself this one question – “What will I NOT succeed” ? This is a powerful statement to reflect upon, as the answer will reveal what you need to do to be successful

I would be interested to know what came up for you as you read and reflected on this email

Till then

Stay safe and stay healthy

Harsh

P.S. -?Here are some ways how I can help you in your transformation journey

1)?2022 Vision?- We are in the last month of 2021. This is a great time to pause and reflect. How 2021 went and what do you want in 2022 and beyond. If you are interested in creating a powerful vision for your future, drop me a message

2)?Reflective Leadership?– Last year, I created a resource "7 Reflective Questions Every Leader Should Ask". This was the most downloaded e-book from my website. Over the course of this year, I have expanded that list and added many more powerful questions in the latest edition of?"21?Powerful Questions Every Leader Should Reflect On"?. This can be used for self-reflection as well as for teams. If you need a copy of same, drop me an email

3) PLUS, whenever you are ready to step into your real power and go after what you truly want, you can book a short exploratory call here (Book Your Call)?