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"Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance" this was the mantra chanted by our Corporals, Sergeants and Officers from the Australian Infantry that I did basic training with, and it holds so true that I though it needed a write up of it's own.
So many people have excuses why they did not do something, something did not work out the way it was 'planned' or why something just simply failed....
When in reality all it was is that they did not prepare well enough.
When we had parade nights I remember one time a guy turning up in wrinkled, barely ironed (and definitely not starched) uniform. The officer was livid, yelling in his face why wasn't his appearance up to scratch.
He had a legitimate excuse at the time, a blackout that day and it was raining - things that were beyond his control. The Leiutenant asked told him plainly that that was no excuse, he had 13 days since the last parade night to prepare, the fact that he left it to the last day just showed that his prior preparation was piss poor.
And this is something I see time and time again in all facets of life.
The weightlifter who cannot gain any weight because he cannot eat properly because he is working 10 hours a day - get up early like I used to and make all your meals before you leave the house. Prepare your meals in advance. a quick example: a simple big stew in a hot pot the night before takes very little time and produces many nutritious meals cooked and ready to pack in the morning.
The guy who gets caught at tax time and cannot pay his tax bill. Saving a little throughout the year would have solved that problem.
The guy who is 'dieting' but drinks a coke because he was 'thirsty' and there was no water available at the vending machine, water comes for free from taps.
The business that went broke because they 'did not see' the coming recession, business works in cycles, it is a historical fact, and should be planned for.
All these are examples that could have been fixed if they had only had the 6P motto:
Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance
So next time you need to get something done, or something is not going right have a think about the 6P's and see if you might be able to rectify your preparation and get things back on track before there is a problem.
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