A week to plan your ‘future’

A Merry Christmas to all of you and please accept my most sincere thanks and gratitude for making time to read this column, as well as those of my fellow columnists and the work put together by the team behind each and every edition of The Philippine STAR.

I am truly grateful for your support, your emails and shared views, as well as those who encourage us whenever we meet at supermarkets, malls, events and even on walks. Little do you realize how your greetings and positive comments or suggestions give life and purpose to our work. May you be blessed by God through your life.

*      *      *

Today, allow me to give you a “gift.” It is not the gift of Life or Salvation as God has given all of us by sending his son, our lord Jesus the Christ, as our Redeemer. That’s constantly available if you search it out for yourself.

What I want to gift you with is something you could seriously use if you choose, but you only have a week to put it to use. While everybody is enjoying the Christmas parties and holiday activities, few people come to the realization that we only have one week and suddenly our “future,” the New Year 2025, is upon us.

Many companies have already done their corporate planning for 2025, but individuals who participated in them never stop to consider conducting or doing a “corporate plan” for their family. Some might say that it’s a silly idea, since the family itself is not a business.

I beg to differ. Why do people go to work? Don’t they often say, “I do it for my family.” Where does all the money we earn go to? Doesn’t it go to food, clothing, shelter, education, material acquisition, vacation and activities?

The fact is, our family life makes up half of the pie of life, while our work and corporate life is the other half that supports it. And just like business and corporate life, we should all have a plan agreed on by the whole family.

Without one, you would be like a driver, a runner or a business going nowhere. Sooner or later, you discover that you’ve wasted time, energy or opportunity because you did not set correct goals and rewards, no plans towards achieving them and did not involve or tap the skills or talent of family members or agree on a division of labor.

We all get lost in the weeds of life unless we have directions and guard rails or a road map everyone in the family is committed to. You might say, “But Cito, my kids are teens or younger.” Well, they are the ones whose prayers reach Heaven and “whenever two or three pray together,” Jesus said, “there I will be.” In addition, you automatically train the children to have a prayer life along with plans.

So how, and what, do you put into the “Family Corporate Plan?”

Begin by setting the general goals in columns. Classify them under: finances / health / spiritual / educational / travel / house/ professional / personal-individual. Under each category, begin to list down specific goals then discuss each goal, validate or argue if needed, how will it affect or impact your quality of life, rank or rate priority or urgency.

From there, figure out what “investments” or inputs or amount of work and time will be required to achieve each goal as well as to retain it. Can one person do it? Who is the best person to do it? Does it require partners or family team effort and what would be the added value to the family relationship?

Do you have the skills or knowledge to pursue specific goals or will you need extra hands from inside the family, the extended family or get outside professional help? Some goals might actually be hit faster by asking someone to do parts that your family team can’t. Learning curves eat up time, cost money and is a mine field for discouragement because of mistakes and delays.

You will quickly learn or pick up on something while watching and listening and asking an expert while you pay him his full price to do a job you have no working experience on. Many of us DIYers have spent fortunes on certain trainings and seminars but never got anything off the ground until a trainor or consultant showed us how and why.

Once you have sorted out your real goals for 2025 and have gone past the self-interrogation, push it forward by setting a timeline or an operating schedule and a start-to-finish plan. If you need to, section or spread the work and place markers to show you if you are on schedule, were too optimistic or being a lazy bone.

In her arts and crafts room, my wife Karen has a sign that says, “Measure twice, cut once.” Do the same for your family corporate goals. You are better off achieving and running out of goals early because you can easily add more later in the year, rather than have too much on your plate, constantly being distracted or slowed down.

Also, be aware that not all your goals will necessarily be achieved. Place everything under God’s perfect timing. I have had dozens of projects that went out the window, were picked up by other people and only became reality a decade or so later.

Once you have made “The Plan,” gather up your tribe and come to an agreement to pray for the family goals as well as the goals of each member daily and together. After reading this, please search and read Proverbs 3: 5-6.

Merry Christmas.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]