When I was a little kid, I would wake up at the crack of dawn to get ready for school. I’d excitedly eat my cereal or pop-tarts–almost shove them down–before being dropped off for school at the gate and running as fast as I could to get out on the playground with my friends. I loved school. I still do.

It’s because I love to learn. I soak up information all day, every day. I read books voraciously. I check out the news morning, noon, and night. I listen to subject-specific podcasts and do everything I can to better myself every day.

I am sure you do the same. Or at least you should. You should want to better yourself, or at least prepare yourself for whatever lies before you. If you’re a student with an exam on Friday, you start preparing yourself for the exam on Monday, or before if you need to. If you are an athlete, you train your body and make sure it is up to the task every time you practice and play.

Bottom line: if you want to excel in life, you must always be prepared.

So as you get ready to head back to school, I would like to ask you a very simple question: Are you ready? Sure, you probably know how you’ll be studying, and what after-school activities you’ll participate in.

But are you prepared for what your eyes may see and where your mind may wander? The Bible says to set your mind on things above. And while that is an easy thing to remember, it is much more difficult to put into practice.

What if you walk out to the football field and see a little too much from the cheerleading squad? Or open up the computer to research that paper, only to have a link take you to a site you know you shouldn’t be looking at?

Now let’s ask that simple question again: Are you ready?

When you come across the field incident or something on the computer, do you have a plan in place? Are you prepared? If you are not prepared and do not plan, the likelihood of succeeding is next to nil; it just won’t happen.

Just like that test. Just like the sport you love.

No plan = no win.

Plan = win.

It’s your choice. Me? I choose to have a plan and be prepared.

If you would like help in creating a plan, please check out our reccomended action steps on the help page.