Start with the end in mind.

There's a concept in poker that it's actually incredibly difficult to grasp: start with the river decision. This means that you need to to think now, before you're even dealt cards what you're gonna do on the last card. For those who don't play poker that's thinking a minimum of 5 moves ahead, with no information on that the turn card will be or the river card will be.

How can one do that?!

The simple answer is that you can't. Or at least, you can't do it with 100% accuracy. But you can do it with a % of success that can be significant. The problem is that it is difficult, requires ton of work to understand the frequencies and the odds you need to have in your mind and triangulate vs what your opponent will do, what your cards actually are and lastly...very important...how big your balls are to pull the moves. Yes, if you are averse to risk, you have no chance.

Let me stop here with the poker analogy and move to "life stuff". Can we apply this kind of thinking in our life?

I believe we can, if we start "with the end" whatever that is. A certain lifestyle, a certain position, a specific career...who knows, everybody wants something, right? [ That most don;t know what they want and find themselves floating through life wherever the currents of faith and destiny takes them, lost souls "living" useless lives...that's for another post].

So the idea is that you know where you want to go in 10 years say but you don't know what the next years will bring, you don't know what you even can bring to the table at this point. but you know something very important: YOU WANT IT.
Ok, so you can start planning and know that if you get in 5 years here than you can get in 10 years there but if you don't you need to re-asses maybe. So you work your way back and figure where you need to be TODAY and TOMORROW. the funny thing with plans, the results appear in years but they happen in the day to day.

The problem is of course, that most people are risk adverse and can't do a risky thing today, to reap the rewards in 10 years time. It's very very anti-human nature. It's not for nothing that we look at the ones who do that and achieve immense success as "larger than life". Well, they are, larger than human life anyway.
The problem is that most people don't put in the work and their guesswork is sketchy to inexistent which leads to very very bad conclusions and actions. It's cool to be daring but not so cool when you're stupid [ which mean, uninformed ].
The final problem is that life deals bad cards often and that affect your mindset, your plans and your willpower.

Well, that's all good and stuff, but YOU KNOW this will happen..can you prepare for it and act your decisions based on what events you get dealt?

Think it over.

r.