"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffet
Planning, Alan Lakein said, "Is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now." Virtually everyone is aware that, if you fail to plan, then you have planned to fail. In fact, it has been a long standing adage. Yet, interestingly, if there is one thing that almost everybody falls short of doing, it's PLANNING. Especially in Africa. The harvest of a good and fulfilling life must be preceded by some conscious calculated efforts, reflected in a plan.
A funny, but instructive story was told of three fishes which lived in a pond. One was named "Plan ahead", another was "Think fast" and the third was called "Wait and see". One day they heard a fisherman say he would be going to cast his net in their pond the next day. Plan ahead, said,"I am swimming down the river tonight". "Think fast" said, "I am sure I will come up with a plan". "Wait and See" lazily said," I just can't think about it now".
When the fisherman cast his nets, "Plan ahead" was able to escape from his nets. But "Think fast" and "Wait and see" were caught by the fisherman. "Think fast" quickly rolled his belly up and pretended to be dead. "Oh, this fish is no good!" said the fisherman and threw him safely back into the water. However, "Wait and see" ended up in the fish market. That is why people say, "In times of danger, when the net is cast, plan ahead or plan to think fast!"
It may interest you to know that the man who takes to planning, will most likely not have need to “Think fast to escape danger. This is because most times, what we call danger is just a result of no planning. Norman Foster made a striking observation, when he said “I hope that any expansion of London will learn from the planning examples of some of its most desirable areas such as Chelsea, Notting Hill, Belgravia and Mayfair. All are characterized by high density and a generosity of green spaces. They are all pedestrian-friendly with shops, entertainment, restaurants and pubs within easy walking distance.” Attempting to compare this observation with most of our cities in this part of the world, it will definitely give you solid food for deep thought.
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