Michael Deffina - So What Comes Next?: A Teens Guide to Life Planning Made Easy

About the Book

This guide is an easy-to-use handbook designed to help you get the most out of life your life your way. In so many ways, life is about choices. So, we can just let life happen to us, or we can take control of it. You have the power to shape your life to be whatever you want it to be. The best way to do that is by building your own personal success plan that is designed to get you wherever you want to go, no matter where you start from.

At this moment, you might be ahead of your class in school, or somewhere in the middle, or even behind. You may even have dropped out of school; it simply makes no difference. Building your life plan is about starting from where you are now, determining where you want to be, and putting together a road map to get you there. Your past has already happened; your future is where the action is!

This guide will help you pinpoint what is most important to you in your personal life. It will also help you determine which careers or occupations suit you the best and will make you the happiest. Keep in mind that the plan that you will develop in the workbook will be tailored to you, and you alone, because you are unique. No one else in the world is quite like you. Your plan will help you choose the life you want to live based on what you enjoy and the work you choose. And it most likely will open doors to things that you never imagined.

In addition to developing your personal success plan, you may also use the financial plan in the workbook that will allow you to live life comfortably and securely, both in the work force and when you retire. As you go through life, your finances will change, and so will your budget. The tool will guide you through making those changes as you adjust to your changing circumstances along the way.

While all of us are alike in so many ways, we are also quite different. Each of us has different strengths and weaknesses, different likes and fears, different personalities, and we encounter different situations. Along our journey, we may have great opportunities along with wonderful experiences and pleasure-filled times. Unfortunately, too many people will miss out on the good stuff simply because they dont know where to start and they have no plan. They might not even realize that they should have a plan, and so their lives will just happen one way or the other. This guide is to help you avoid falling into that trap.

Doesnt it make sense to have a plan to get the most out of our lives? Of course! So why doesnt everyone have one? Well, maybe because the most out of life is not the same for everyone. No one plan can fit everyone. Often, when people give us guidance, they give it to us from their own viewpoints and desires, and not necessarily from ours.

The guide is designed to help you create your own plan from your own viewpoint. It goes to who you are as an individual and what you want your life to be like. If you choose to do so, you will be able to develop and follow a plan, a road map, that will lead you to get the most out of life your life, your way.

Heres some really good news: It is surprisingly easy to develop such a plan. Most people just dont think about it or know how to do it. This guide will change all of that for you.

So, enjoy the reading, the planning, and the ride. I sincerely wish you much success and happiness throughout your life. There will be many good times, along with some bad times. I hope that having a plan, your own personal plan, will help you get through it all with the most happiness and comfort for you and those around you.

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Section One: Self-Awareness3

Section Two: Goals & Action Plans6

Section Three: Relationships19

Section Four: Organization &

Time Management27

Section Five: Success Traits

& Behaviors29

Section Six: Life Plan Workbook32

Introduction

When we were young children, most of us did not have to worry too much about our lives; they just seemed to happen, and we followed along. The truth is that we didnt have much choice anyway because we had limited knowledge and very little control then. But as we go through our teens, we can see that life is much more involved; we have more freedom, more responsibility, and much more control.

We realize that while we are the same as others in so many ways, we are also different. Naturally, there are many physical differences tall, short, fat, skinny, race, gender, etc. None of those things matters very much because, beyond those physical characteristics, we are all people just the same.

We all have similar wants and emotions. We all want to be happy, healthy, and secure. We all want the very best for our families, our loved ones, our friends and neighbors, and our country. We all want to be liked and loved. We also have our own fears and insecurities. All of those things are much bigger than having different physical characteristics and different opinions.

The differences that really matter center around character, along with having our own personal strengths and weaknesses and our own interests and desires. Those personal traits will certainly shape our lives, either haphazardly or by design. Those are the differences that matter, and those are the differences you will need to focus on to develop a personal life plan tailored to you as an individual.

Your plan will be about you and what is important to you. It will focus on your strengths, the things you enjoy, and the type of life you choose to live. Of course, after you develop your plan, you will need to follow it. As you do, you are going to find that it needs to change from time to time because some items in your plan will be unworkable for one reason or another. Some changes will come from your own interests and desires changing as you go along. Other changes will come from a change in your environment, such as moving to another area, or a change in family structure.

So, dont be concerned about having to change your plan; that is actually a part of the plan! You will want to change and update your plan as you grow; its not meant to be an absolute prediction of your life. It is a tool and a road map to reach your goals, however they may change. It is designed to keep you happy and personally successful throughout your life.

We will develop your plan as a team, but it will be totally your plan, not mine. Youre the star athlete; Im just a coach.

The process has two parts: the Guide and the Workbook. After reading the guide, you will go on to complete the workbook, and the result will be your personal plan, designed for you by you.