Norman Vincent Peale said it best: We tend to get what we expect. A fresh, new year is here, and aspiring business people should forego the ever popular New Years resolution to lose weight and, instead, commit to making a Life Plan. Doing so will help individuals balance their whole life and assure they are ready to take on new workplace challenges as they are presented - and to execute them well. With this in mind, here are someinsights on the value of Life Planning:

Passivity will get you nowhere. Far too many are not as happy as they would like to be, as successful as they think they should be, or as wealthy as theyd hoped they would be when they were younger. Not coincidently, most people do not have a personal life plan either. They simply get up each day, do whatever it is that they get paid to do, and then do whatever it is they think they want to do for relaxation and personal time. In short, they let life happen to them as opposed to managing their lives.

Take the task seriously. However helpful, creating a life plan requires work. Developing it can be as hard or as easy as one makes it and requires a level of commitment to take it from concept to completion. The more detailed your life plan, the more readily you can identify areas of weakness and find actionable ways to overcome them.

Cover all the bases. A good life plan recognizes that our lives are segmented into 3 different facets: the professional self the one who goes out each day to make a living; the family self the one who does things for and with those they love; and the personal self who has things they love and enjoy doing which replenish them. Addressing each of these personality facets assures you will address, think through, and plan for all critical areas of your life that, ultimately, intertwine.

Keep tabs. Like insurance, you should review your life plan after any major life event. Getting married, or divorced, starting a family, moving, promoted, illness, any of these sorts of things can render your life plan out of date. Since a life plan is one of the most important tools to the achievement of your goals, make sure its current. Dont treat it as a static document, its much too critical to be relegated to the bottom drawer.

Over nearly 30 years in the business world, I have had the privilege of spending time with many well known and well regarded corporate executives, government officials and diplomats. Being up close and personal with this type of individual on a fairly frequent basis triggered the realization that there are certain attributes most of these very successful business people have in common. Indeed, I found that virtually every successful individual had a personal life plan.

When asked, each could tell me in relatively certain terms what the future was going to be like for them. Their plan wasnt always written down, but it was always fairly detailed and had deadlines and clear actionable goals. In short, these individuals had a business plan for their career and their life. Personal life planning can help assure business success.

Simply put, if you want something, have a plan to get it.