WHAT ARE MY STRENGTHS?
Whenever you make a key decision or take a key action,write down what expect will happen.9 or 12 months later,compare the actual results with your expectations.

Taking pride in such ignorance is self-defeating.

This planner will have to learn that the work does not stop when the plan is completed.

HOW DO I PERFORM?
Indeed,most of us do not even know that different people work and perform differently.Too many people work in ways that are not their ways,and that almost guarantees nonperformance.
Am I a reader or a listener?

HOW DO I LEARN?
learn by writing
learn by taking copious notes
learn by doing
learn by talking
some people learn by hearing themselves talk

To manage yourself effectively,you also have to ask,Do I work well with people,or am I a loner?And if you do work well with people,you then must ask,In what relationship?

Another crucial question is,Do I produce results as a decision maker or as an adviser?

He or she knows what the decision should be but cannot accept the responsibility of actually making it.

WHAT ARE MY VALUES?
Ethics requires that you ask yourself,
What kind of person do I want to see in the mirror in the morning?
What is ethical behavior in one kind of organization or situation is ethical behavior in another.

A person‘s strengths and the way that person performs rarely conflict;the two are complementary.But there is sometimes a conflict between a person‘s values and his or her strengths.What one does well-even very well and successfully-may not fit with one‘s value system.In that case,the work may not appear to be worth devoting one‘s life to(or even a substantial portion thereof).

WHAT SHOULD I CONTRIBUTE?
What does the situation require?Given my strengths,my way of performing,and my values,how can I make the greatest contribution to what needs to be done?And finally,What results have to be achieved to make a difference?

A plan can usually cover no more than 18 months and still be reasonably clear and specific.
So the question in most cases should be,Where and how can I achieve results that will make a difference within the next year and a half?
The answer must balance several things.First,the results should be hard to achieve-they should require "stretching,"to use the current buzzword.But also,they should be within reach.To aim at results that cannot be achieved or that can be only under the most unlikely circumstances-is not being ambitious;it is being foolish.Second,the results should be meaningful.They should make a difference.Finally,results should be visible and,if at all possible,measurable.From this will come a course of action:what to do,where and how to start,and what goals and deadlines to set.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR RELATIONSHIP

THE SECOND HALF OF YOUR LIFE
Similarly,all the social entrepreneurs I know began to work in their chosen second enterprise long before they reached their peak in their original business.

Excerpt.Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker