The idea or principle of “not having a plan in life” has been reiterated by multiple people the past couple of weeks. I remember at first I thought it was stupid advice, you need a plan, duh- right?  I heard this first at the BIG Omaha conference a couple weeks ago by Jason Fried of 37signals and then again tonight while watching Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt give the commencement address at Carnegie Mellon (worth your time, if you’ve got 11 minutes and 55 seconds). So what does this “do not have a plan” advice really mean? I wanted to take some time to reflect on this crazy notion.

In Eric’s speech, he says, “Live your life and forgo your plans- and you can also forgo fear.”

It’s important to not stop yourself from doing something because you’re unsure on it’s possible outcome. Not knowing how it will “end” shouldn’t be reason to stop you from trying it. Far too often do people cross things off their list or dismiss their ideas because they think of 1 negative possible outcome. Figure it out, don’t hold back from trying something, learn from it, tweak, then keep trying again.

Originally I thought the idea of “do not have a plan” was a ridiculous notion- but I’ve realized that I have adopted and practiced this myself already. Personally, when I started blogging, shooting my video blogs, trying out photography or started planning the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party benefit- I did not have experience, a road map with instructions, or even the slightest clue where it would end. And I still don’t. But I do have more information now than I did before- which has influenced what step to take next. More importantly, not knowing outcome to each of these activities didn’t stop me from trying.

For people who are linear thinkers and require rationale for everything, it’s hard to exercise this “no plan” mindset. But, I believe John Lennon got it right when he wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
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