# Being Prepared By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-03-13 Success is facilitated by preparation. As Louis Pasteur explained, “chance favors only the prepared mind.” Events are unpredictable. Preparation allows one to respond effectively to a dynamic reality. Strategically, one must determine one’s approach to preparation. After all, since the future is unpredictable, how and what one prepares isn’t necessarily clear. Broadly, one has three approaches. One can attempt to prepare for anything, everything, or nothing. Each focus is distinct. Preparing for anything means having a generally adaptable approach to whatever comes one’s way. Preparing for everything means one has a strategy for contending with the overwhelming chaos that ensues with many unpredictable events co-occurring. Preparing for nothing means being open to an unpredictable, unfolding reality. Each focus offers something. Preparing for anything is like having a highly function Swiss Army knife for action. Preparing for everything is like a reserve of battery chargers that allows one to perform indefinitely. Preparing for nothing is like having a Zen mindset. Any one approach is workable. So, which should one select? As Yogi Berra said, “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” Preparation takes time. One can prepare as anything, everything, and nothing is occurring. In fact, one can only prepare while these things are occurring. One is never outside of the flow. Rather than picking one, there is value in cultivating each. Being prepared is about being ready for anything, everything, and nothing. #### Related Items [[Mindset]] [[Preparing]] [[Paradigms]] [[Uncertainty]] [[Future]] [[Strategy]]