I was never much of a planner. My general approach was an ad hoc, free-spirit kind of lifestyle while life just happened as it will.

It was an attitude that permeated everything I did.

To me, planning was nothing more than trying to take control of a world that wants chaos. Plus, there is no spontaneity in it and where was the fun in that?

The issue was when it came to things like a magic show, it was horribly obvious my act wasn’t planned from beginning to end. I was getting by an experience.

In the classroom, I just went with a daily plan and no idea of a bigger picture. I stayed afloat thanks to my own creativity and the roadmap of others.

Let’s not get into how little I would plan life events.

I’ve come to understand, appreciate and learn that having the proper preparation and a meticulous plan are not impediments to life: they are necessary. The more planning you put into something, the better prepared you will be for whatever circumstance comes your way. Will there be curveballs?

Always.

But, those get added to the next plan.

Take, for instance, comedians. Their entire act is planned and carefully rehearsed—even those moments where it appears they are going off the rails or improvising. They rarely, if ever, improvise. Each “quick comeback” or one-liner is something prepared from a show where it happened before.

All I know is that after decades of the false promise of “I got this,” meticulous planning is finally ensuring that I do got this.