Developing a Personal Strategy
The Field Review: TFR-016
There are moments in life when something clicks, and suddenly, an idea you’ve been searching for, wrestling with, and trying to articulate finally comes into focus.
For years, I’ve navigated my career with a sense of purpose, but without a clear roadmap. I knew what I wanted, and I made decisions that seemed right at the time, but I never had a name for what I was doing.
What if there was a more concrete concept, a framework that can be named, understood, and shared with others that outlines this process?
That’s when it clicked. That something might just be a Personal Strategy.
Personal Strategy—What It Really Means
Take all of this with a grain of salt… because I’m still figuring it out myself.
At a high level, Personal Strategy is a process that applies the principles of strategic planning used by successful organizations to your own life. But it’s more than just setting goals; it outlines a process to understand the bigger picture and helps you make deliberate choices that move you closer to the life you want to live.
Think about the rise in the importance placed on personal branding within the last few years. I’ve developed branding for myself as well as for many companies and clients as part of my day job. But any marketer knows that you don’t just stop at branding. Just like a business, branding is only one piece of the puzzle to your overall strategy. Once your brand is complete (or mostly complete), where do you go from there?
Developing a personal strategy helps you identify not only where you want to go, but understand the environment you’re navigating, and make choices that align with your long-term vision.
Why This Matters Now
We live in a time where the lines between our personal and professional lives are increasingly blurred. We’re no longer just navigating our careers; we’re balancing our identities, our values, and our aspirations in a constantly repeating 24-hour cycle.
The pressure to succeed professionally, while also maintaining a fulfilling personal life, can feel overwhelming without a clear direction.
Unlike the reactive approach many of us take—where we chase after opportunities or try to keep up with the latest productivity trends—personal strategy offers a proactive way to shape your future.
It’s about taking control of your narrative, not just responding to what’s happening around us, but deliberately crafting a life that aligns with your deeper goals and values.
What’s Next?
The concept of Personal Strategy is one that I’m excited to explore, develop, and share with you as I figure it out myself.
I think this is something big, something that I believe can change the way we think about our lives and careers. It’s a way to be more intentional in everyday tasks while also providing clarity and purpose to the choices we make on a daily basis.
Your personal strategy might already be underway, but the process to improve it starts now.
Substack is helping me develop my personal brand voice.
Hey Jack, another great issue. I totally agree on the value of planning and building a personal strategy, which I think is a bit different from personal branding and I think you are making that clear here.
And while I do think it's important to plan your career, life etc and give structure to what you want to accomplish, I think you also must incorporate serendipity. You simply cannot plan for everything. What happens if you plan on working on your career for the next 10 years then 6 months later meet the love of your life and want to move to be with them? Or what if you want to get married in 5 years, but in 6 months you are offered a 6-figure job you never saw coming?
The point is, life delights in throwing us curve balls. We should absolutely plan, but we should also plan on the unexpected.