A "Business Plan" for Life.

It's not your father's career. The world is changing so fast and is so complicated that you need to manage your life and career. You need a "Business Plan" for life.

The current buzz word is "platform." Your platform is a combination of your personal plan for life and your career management. It's who you are---your image or "brand."

A platform needs a focus and direction. What sets you apart from everyone else? What can you offer that makes you unique---or at least in demand?

Create a plan for your career and your life (there's much more about how to do this in my upcoming book "A Plan For Life: How to get it right in the 9 key areas of life."

But here are a few tips you can do right now.

• Find a focus in your career. Whether it's as the best radiologist or social network marketer, be an "expert" in something specific. While there's a place for a good old-fashioned Renaissance Man/Woman with a wide range of skills and experience, you'll be much easier to hire if you offer a specific skill.
• Write articles, give speeches, win awards---in other words, promote the hell out of yourself. This is not the time in history to hide your light under a basket. Get noticed.
• Create, maintain and utilize a large network of friends, business contacts, mentors and (yes) relatives. Most opportunities in life, as well as much of the joy, will come from your social network. Friends and relatives are the number one source of career opportunities. People with rich social networks are happier and even live longer. Your social network will also be your source of sustenance when times are tough. Don't wait. Start now to create your network. As author Harvey Mackay wrote, "Dig your well before you're thirsty."
• Give serious attention to your personal style. Develop an optimistic and energetic persona. People with positive attitudes are happier and more successful in life. Find a "look" that supports your personal style and integrate it into your life. Many of my friends in the film industry do the young, hip "director" look---baseball hat with something like a Fox Studios logo on it, designer tee shirts, jeans or khaki shorts, sandals or Italian loafers, $500 sunglasses. It definitely pegs them as being "in the industry." Another friend has always done variations of the "preppy" look. It works for him and adds to his personal platform identity.

Once you decide on your personal platform and style, keep it consistent. Everything from your home to your car to where you spend your time should reinforce your platform.

My friend Tony Duran, the famous fashion photographer, does this better than almost anyone I have ever known. His home (and its location right under the H in the Hollywood sign), his car (color coordinated to the furnishings in his home), his clothing (down to his unique glasses), his friends, his hangouts---everything fits his personal style perfectly. There isn't a single thing in his life that doesn't support his image. He knows exactly what he wants in life and what image he needs to project to attain it---while remaining true to his own personality.

Your personal platform requires some thought and hard work to make happen. But the payoff in personal and professional success is worth the effort.