There are some people who, by the age of 5, say “I want to be an astronaut” or “I know I’m going to be a fireman when I grow up” and that desire stays with them into adulthood. But that’s 10% of the population. The majority of people don’t have a clue about what they really want to do or be. Even after graduating from college or with post graduate degrees, they don’t really know what they want. That’s because they don’t know what their strengths are. So if you do the work to determine your strengths, you’re already ahead of the game.

Next, ask yourself what you want your personal economy to look like. One thing that I’ve discovered going through this process myself is that you can only plan to the extent that you can create a clear idea of the end point. The first step is to get clear about the personal economy you want to create. Are you a “solo- preneur” or do you want to collaborate with others? How much hands-on involvement do you want to have with your streams? How much money do you want to make and what types of business results will bring you the most satisfaction?

You may not know the answers to all of these questions, but it’s important to ask them and start defining what your personal economy will look like. Without doing this, your goals remain fuzzy and your energy and focus will be scattered. You will get pulled in all kinds of directions. This is not a very effective way to create anything!

Once you have a clear picture of what your personal economy looks like and a general plan, take the first steps toward it and allow it to unfold organically. Life will teach you whether or not it’s going to work out for you or whether it will evolve differently than you thought. You can make mid-point course corrections as you progress and capture other opportunities that appear. In my businesses, I get surprised all the time. We get an idea and start a project then it often heads off in directions we never could have conceived of beforehand.

But even knowing that it will likely turn out differently than you imagine, you still need to start with a clear picture of what you want initially and move toward that picture. If you remain stuck in the fuzzy zone and if you don’t take steps forward, nothing happens. You won’t see the great alternatives and exciting opportunities that show up when you’re moving forward. You don’t have to know exactly how you’re going to get to where you want to go. But you do have to know where you want to go and take a few steps forward.