Quotes About Planning, Preparation, and Strategy

Turn your vision into reality with the power of planning! Here’s what great minds have to say about it.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

— Larry Elder

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

— Abraham Lincoln

“The backbone of success is hard work, determination, good planning, and perseverance.”

— Mia Hamm

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”

— Winston Churchill

“If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters… 204 if you’re in Japan.” 

― Claire Cook

 

“A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.”

— Harvey Mackay

“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”

— John F. Kennedy

“The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done… you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do.”

— Lil Wayne

“A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

— George S. Patton

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

— Bobby Unser

“I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” 

― Benjamin Disraeli

 

“Make time for planning. Wars are won in the general’s tent.”

— Stephen Covey

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

“Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent return on energy!” 

― Brian Tracy

“Think ahead. Don’t let day-to-day operations drive out planning.”

— Donald Rumsfeld

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”

— Alan Lakein

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” 

― Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

“Plan your next move because every step contributes towards your goal.” 

― Sukant Ratnakar

“A good plan is like a road map; it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.”

— H. Stanley Judd

“Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.” 

― Stephen Keague

“Everybody has to take curveballs as they come in life and hopefully have the ability to adjust their plans.”

— Chris Sullivan

“Always have a plan, and believe in it. Nothing happens by accident.” 

― Chuck Knox

“The man who is prepared has his battle half fought.”

— Miguel de Cervantes

 

“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

— Richard Cushing

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” 

― Alexander Graham Bell

“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.”

— Napolean Bonaparte

“Plan for what is difficult while it is easy; do what is great while it is small.”

— Sun Tzu

“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” 

― Leonard Bernstein

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” 

― George S. Patton

 

“Plan your work and work your plan.”

— Napoleon Hill

“Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even should they rarely stick to their plan.”

— Winston Churchill

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

— John Wooden

“The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”

— Juma Inkangaa

“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” 

― Fitzhugh Dodson

“Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.”

— Amelia Earhart

 

“Have a dream, make a plan, go for it. You’ll get there, I promise.”

— Zoe Koplowitz

"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation." 

— Arthur Ashe

“I don’t know the secret to success, but I’m pretty sure the closest thing is preparation.”

— Michelle Kwan