Even the best laid plans could come tumbling leaving one to
think, how did it happen? Maybe that’s what played through the mind of J.P.
Morgan (owner of the White Star Line) on a cold night in April 14th
to 15th in 1912 when news reached him that the unsinkable ship had
actually slowly but surely descended and found a new home at the bottom of the
cold Atlantic ocean. It’s documented that the Titanic was designed to stay afloat even
in the harshest conditions known to man at the time. It took three years to
design and build the titanic yet it only took a meager three hours for it to
sink to the bottom. A paltry three hours is all it took for three years efforts
to be dwarfed and thwarted. Many of us have watched the movie but the real
intentions of the script writer were lost in the love story of Emilio Portalupi
and Madeleine Talmage Astor. I bet it was supposed to come in as a sideshow,
but sadly it’s what captured most of our imaginations. That love story is a constant
reminder that the best things are enjoyed only for a short period at best. I bet
J.P. Morgan (owner of the White Star
Line) turned in his grave when Titanic premiered for he knew no one
really took a pause, calmed their emotions and just wondered how things could go
wrong so fast. The Titanic was designed so meticulously with attention to
detail that rivals very many future inventions that have come to pass but the fact that it sunk proves
to us that even the best laid plans and designs fail, not because of our inability to
forecast potential scenarios of destruction but it’s due to our inherent
inability to know the future with certainty (the sonar was invented immediately
after the Titanic sank to ensure future accidents of that nature do not occur
again). That’s why I believe that a 'just in case' clause should be inserted at
the end of all plans we make, best laid out or not!
Funny enough, most of us go through life believing that our
plans are foolproof, never wanting to believe that stuff may not work out due
to things we couldn’t imagine or let downs by people we thought we could trust
or systems we believed would not fail. You’re probably wondering that some of my
plans might have really gone wrong for me too rant and focus on just three
words ‘just in case’. Well I can’t say thats entirely wrong but the holidays
were a real eye opener for me. Drinking down the hot humid days at the coast
and chatting away the afternoons did not all go to waste. Listening to my old
folks and uncles reminiscing glory days long gone, faded memories was somewhat
interesting. Though inhibitions were lost with each passing sip and caution was
thrown to the wind, lessons always prevailed…you know how old folks are. Women
were one of the topics that remained afloat throughout the entire
conversations. Be skeptical with all your plans even with relationships my sons
they went on and on. Stories of how too much trust is for fools and those naive
to the ways of the world. Stories of men who planned for till 'deaths do us' part
but failed to pay attention to details and succumbed to their inadequacies.
Left their wives to be driven by their neighbors to work each day with no second
thoughts to the idea. Surely she will not be asked about how her kids and
husband are doing every day or of men whose wives give massages for a living
and their clients tell you that they do a really good job! So pay attention to
detail and leave nothing to chance and constantly think about what if, for just
in case it happens you will not be caught unawares and resort to finding hope
at the bottom of that bottle.
Wake up!!! We’ve all heard of all the big corporations that were
untouchable but came tumbling down in the snap of a finger, like the snapping
of a twig when you’re sneaking in home after a late night that alerts the dogs
to start barking and wake up the whole damn neighborhood. The examples are
endless from Kodak who shelved the digital camera idea and stuck with their old
operations not knowing how it would all come to blow up in their faces or
Motorola-remember them, they were at the peak of the mobile food chain but
their failure to capitalize on smart phones eventually led to their inevitable
fall. These are some of the few corporations that thought their strategic plans were
foolproof. Some may quickly jump to the conclusion that they failed to
anticipate the future, they were not innovative enough, I think it’s just an
element of poor planning. Big corporations are headed by humans too, so we have
to cut them some slack when things go haywire, they are all out there just
trying to get their organizations to the top and build their legacies not
forgetting making their salaries and allowances bigger. Am afraid and try to
constantly keep away from the constant complainer, you know the guy who sees
all the wrong and the negative side of things like they get a prize for negative energy that they inject and all the ideas and efforts of their
colleagues they shoot down. Employees are always complaining our organizations
are planning to fail, management is slow and their decisions too. We have to
fight for what we believe in whether we are wrong and though it may ultimately
cost us our jobs or even relationships as long as we know it’s right and it’s
what we stand for, nevertheless we should also know when to let go regardless
for that’s the true mark of progressive person. We cannot all be in top
management but we can influence plans and decisions that seem doomed to fail.
Raise your suggestions constantly, fight for them if you think that’s the
direction they should take for someone will eventually listen. They said John
the Baptist was mad, but they did eventually listen. So we are all human and
therefore we plan (even the drunkard plans to wake up in the morning to go and
drink) from the father, mother,
pastor, manager, cleaner so let’s listen to those with different views and
perspectives when they hear of our plans, just in case they are right.
We constantly need to ask ourselves the questions for tomorrow
for we are in a constantly changing world. The future cannot be predicted using
past results, we can only forecast. And that my friends is the beauty of life.
The inability to know what would happen in the future is impetus for our
constant need to plan. There is a saying that goes 'even the best laid plans of
mice and men often go astray'. The golden sixties is what they were called back
then , when our economy was growing at the pace of modern day giants, we have
nothing to show of it though and that we can put sole blame on our inability to
plan. Our leaders seem to have lost the plot; formulating short term polices
expecting long term solutions. I am currently reading I think, what we should
call the 'The Financial Bible'. It’s called The Richest Man in Babylon. I think
everyone should get a copy of this book for I believe it could curtail your
life to a whole new level, it could be the difference. Am savoring every
chapter like it’s the last slice of that pepperoni pizza. I don't want to say
much about it, heck I am not going to say anything about it for I fear my
words will not do the book justice. But for ya'll who want to plan financially...read
this----->
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bad things happen to good people too, that’s why am always
skeptical about life, am not saying am a good person nor am I endorsing the
fact that I am a bad person either. I am just saying that I try! I know that
trying is not good enough but that’s what it is right now, but that’s not how I
plan on letting things be for long, so watch this space. The way our creator
meant was for us to live in a world that planning was going to be the only way
we survive. A time to be born, and a time to die - A time to plant, and a time
to pluck what is planted - A time to keep silence, and a time to speak - A time
to love, and a time to hate…and so on and on. Regardless I am saddened that
many people do not put in provisions for plans that don’t turn out so great,
deal with it…its life, no one said it was going to be walk in the park.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn't plan and aim for the stars but let’s put in
mind that sometimes we may not even land on the moon, let alone leave the ground. As Wale Akiyemi puts it, the fruits of our failures
could be the seeds for our success. So don’t stick too much to the failing
plan, just in case it isn’t the one.
