Hope Isn’t a Strategy: Why You Need a Focused Plan

This weekend, I did something I never thought I’d do—practice golf. Now, if you’ve followed me for a while, you know my short game is not exactly my strong suit. I’m usually the kind of guy who just goes out there, swings, and hopes for the best. But this time, I said, what if I actually had a plan? What if I used specific drills with focused outcomes?

Guess what happened? I got better.

Now, you don’t have to be a golfer for this to hit home. Ask yourself: What areas of your life are you putting in effort but seeing no improvement? Where are you just "working out" but not "training"?

Let’s talk about the difference.

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The Difference Between Working Out and Training

Working out is effort-based. It feels productive. It might even look productive. But if it’s not tied to a specific goal with a clear outcome, it’s just motion. Training, on the other hand, is intentional. It’s strategic. It’s tied to a specific result. And when it comes to your goals—fitness, career, personal growth—training will always outperform hopeful effort.

So why don’t more of us train with intention in life?

Because we’re relying on hope.

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Hope Is Not a Strategy

I wrote a chapter called “Hope is Not a Strategy” in my book The Idea of Excellence over a decade ago, and it still holds true. Hope is important—it gives us a reason to wake up, to keep trying—but it cannot be the fuel behind your success. Too many of us are putting our foot on the gas and wondering why we’re not going anywhere.

If you don’t have a target, how will you know when you’ve hit it?

If you don’t have a plan, how can you track your progress?

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How to Turn Hope Into Results

1. Start with a Focused Goal
   Be specific. Don’t just say, “I want to be better.” Say, “I want to break 90 in golf.” Or “I want to close five new clients this month.” Clarity drives commitment.

2. Find the Blueprint
   The internet has leveled the playing field. Mentors don’t need to be people you know. They need to be people whose results you trust. There’s no excuse in a world where most experts leave breadcrumbs online. Follow them.

3. Get Over Yourself
   Ego is the enemy. You’re not less of a person because you don’t know how to get to your next level. You’re just someone who needs a roadmap. Put pride aside and become a student again.

4. Stick to the Process
   If the plan works, don’t deviate just because it gets repetitive. Growth doesn’t always feel like fireworks—it feels like repetition, like showing up, like consistency.

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Are You Delaying Your Own Growth?

I had to ask myself something uncomfortable: Why haven’t I done this before? Why had I been delaying my own growth by avoiding structure and strategy? The truth is, a lot of us are scared to be bad at something. We’d rather "kinda" be good at a lot than train to be great at one thing.

But that’s just ego talking.

The moment I stopped relying on my limited knowledge and got a focused plan from someone who’s done it before, progress got easier. Not just faster—easier. Because I wasn’t guessing. I was growing.

The potential you see in yourself? It’s real. But it won’t unlock through more wishing. It’ll unlock through deliberate effort and a focused plan.

You already have what it takes.
You just need to stop hoping and start training.