This is the simplest and easiest stage of planning, it’s also the last. On one hand all you have to do is take that first baby step, simple as that. It literally couldn’t be any easier! On the other hand, this is what’s going to have to carry you to the end point of your goal so there is going to  be a very long and challenging road ahead.

Maybe I should rephrase that, getting started with your plan is simple and easy. On the first pass you’ve already done the hard work. Focusing on and determining your end goal and the outcome you’re aiming at is no simple task. It requires clarity and focus so that you can accurately aim your efforts so that you’re able to maximize the time and energy you’re spending on reaching and attaining that goal. Breaking the long road down into small incremental steps to get you from point A to B is no simple task. This demands forethought to anticipate challenges in the road ahead, as well as creativity in mapping the outcome that opens the next level of challenge.

Execution is so easy after you’ve done the work in the previous exercises. The more time ad energy that you’ve put towards contemplating the end goal and mapping out the steps it will take to get, the easier taking the next steps towards that goal become.

The greatest challenge when it comes to your execution for running your marathon, changing your eating habits, or publishing your written work will be pivoting and adapting. You will always have to execute. But your environment may change so that you will be forced to change your plan. Depending on how specific and micro you got in putting your plan together will determine just how pronounced those changes will be.

Things rarely do go according to plan. but when they do, we’ve positioned ourselves to benefit the most by having that plan in place that we can simply follow along. When we need to change and adapt our plan, we have the general idea of how we’re going to reach destination B, so we can parallel that route with the new field of changed circumstances.