People don't stumble their way into success. They may stumble onto a lucky break, but growth that lasts always comes with a plan.

That's John Maxwell's Law of Design: To maximize growth, develop strategies.

Why Growth Needs a Plan

Hoping to grow is not the same as planning to grow. Too many people drift?wishing life would improve, waiting for someone to hand them the roadmap. The problem? Drifting never takes you anywhere you want to go.

Growth is intentional. It doesn't just "happen." You have to decide where you want to go, figure out the path, and then keep walking it?day after day.

As I wrote in 7 Life Lessons from the Trailer Park: "Decide what you want from life, make a plan, and implement it." Without design, life runs you instead of the other way around.

Get Your Sh*t Together

Lesson 1 in my book has a blunt title: Get Your Sht Together.* Why? Because growth without order doesn't last. You can have dreams, but if you don't back them up with systems, they stay dreams.

I've seen plenty of people with great intentions flame out because they had no plan. They started strong, but life's distractions ate them alive. A strategy isn't optional?it's survival.

The Marine Corps Blueprint

When I joined the Marine Corps, strategy wasn't just encouraged?it was demanded. Everything had a system from how we trained, to how we ate, to how we cleaned our rifles. It might've felt rigid at the time, but it taught me something I still carry today: a system sets you free.

Sounds backwards, right? But think about it:

• Systems reduce wasted time.
• Systems remove guesswork.
• Systems keep you on track when motivation disappears.

You don't rise to the level of your goals?you fall to the level of your systems.

Designing for Growth

So how do you apply the Law of Design to your own life? Start small, but start now:

1. Clarify your outcome. What do you want from life? Write it down in one sentence.
2. Map the steps. Break the goal into daily or weekly actions. If it doesn't fit on a calendar, it won't fit in your life.
3. Build systems. Tie your growth to habits?reading, reflecting, exercising, journaling. Habits are strategies in disguise.
4. Review and refine. A strategy isn't carved in stone. Check in monthly: what's working, what's not, and where to adjust.

Design isn't about perfection. It's about direction.

Make It Count

Growth won't happen by chance. If you want to maximize it, you need to design it. Decide what you want, put systems in place, and stay consistent long enough to see results.

???

Motivation is a burst. Design is a structure. One fades; the other carries you.

So stop drifting. Start designing. Your future depends on it.

? Next week: Law #8 ? The Law of Pain: Good Management of Bad Experiences Leads to Great Growth.