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Section: Strategy and Standards and Habits

Strategy Playbook Purpose

What is Strategy?

Let’s look at the definition of strategy for a moment. There are some surprising insights in its origin and meaning.

• Modern: strat·e·gy: /ˈstradəjē/—a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.—Oxford Dictionary
• Etymology: strategy (n.): "art of a general," from French stratégie (18c.) and directly from Greek strategia "office or command of a general,"—etymology online

The modern definition is straightforward and probably makes sense to you. But isn’t “the art of a general” definition enlightening? Do you know why it says that? Think militarily or in terms of a military general. In this definition, art means the way or style of something. It means strategy is a military general’s style of operation. How do they operate? With precision. They think about their steps.

In former times, when life wasn’t as “easy” as it is now, people had to be much more deliberate about every decision and action they took. Nothing was taken for granted the way it is today. This is still true of the military. Everything is calculated with precision. 

Your Game strategy is your roadmap for going from your vision to your win. It’s the planned execution of steps that takes place between setting your targets and reaching a goal. Targets can be short, to be completed the same day, or long, taking months or years—even a lifetime—to complete. Strategy takes you from the start of your Game through to winning it. You can have a strategy for everything.

To use strategy effectively, you must think like you are the general of your life. Using strategy means taking ownership of your vision, your direction, and all the steps that get you there. Strategy is about empowered decision-making and steps. It involves thinking about:

• Where do you want to go—short term and long term?
• What do you want to accomplish—today, next week, next year, and in your lifetime?
• Do you have a strategy for any of it?
• Do you plan to win?
• Do you know the steps required to win?
• Do you know how to handle distractions or hurdles that might pull you off your path?

You can have a strategy, or multiple strategies, for each of these aspects. Your strategy gets you through to where you want to be. However, you must choose your strategy. If you don’t, unorganized chaos governs you.

In this series, you will create a new vision and new goals. To reach them, you’ll need to make moves. Your strategy moves you from vision to action and takes you across each of your goals’ finish lines. Planning is an important part of crafting your vision. Executing your plan becomes your strategy. Without a strategy for making moves in your Game, your vision remains nothing more than a plan.

In order to win, you must have a winning strategy. To effectively chase your goals, you must approach them with a strategic mindset, focusing on planning, execution, and adaptability. Believing in your goals as if they are already happening is an essential part of this process, as it allows you to visualize your success and develop the necessary confidence to achieve it.

Developing a winning strategy involves measuring your thoughts and actions against your goals, continually assessing your progress, and making adjustments as needed. By being open to all the possibilities the Universe has to offer, you can tap into a wealth of opportunities and resources.

As you pursue your goals with tenacity and a well-thought-out plan, you can maximize your chances of success and reap the rewards of your hard work. Embracing this strategic approach to goal-setting and personal growth can lead you to a life filled with purpose, achievement, and happiness.

You want to make moves in the Game of Life—every day, all day long. Your moves are your decisions and choices. However, you don’t want to make blind moves; you want to make strategic ones. Going through life without strategies means that when you hit bad days or hurdles—which, of course, is bound to happen—you risk losing resources in your Game.

Having a strategy in place makes it easier to make effective decisions and provides a consistent way to filter your choices. Each time you make a decision, ask yourself, “Will this decision help me get closer to or further away from where I am trying to go?”

You won't have just one strategy in your Game; it's not something you decide on once and for all. You choose and execute your strategies daily. You have opportunities to execute your strategy all day, every day. If you choose not to do so, others will run their own games on you.

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