It’s the first day of your career. You had no fan base, no routines, nobody relying on you. How would you do it?

I had to ask myself this when I moved to Nashville almost 2 years ago. I had a few friends in town, but I knew I was essentially moving to a town where I have zero reputation, few fans, and no pre-scripted story of how my career should go.

I wish that I could tell you that I know how things worked out. That I made a conscious decision, carefully planned out my career decisions, and then saw tremendous success.

I did write out a plan. I wrote out a detailed list of where I wanted to go with my career and set a bunch of specific goals. I got to Nashville and had all of my plans blown up. I was wrong about almost everything.

So why plan? Why ask big questions like “where is my career going, and what can I do today to get there?” Not because you’ll accomplish any of the specifics, but because you’ll know which direction to go. I may not have had the details right but I by setting specific goals, I knew if I was on the right track.

Your plan is not your map. It's your compass.