BEYONCE KNOWLES always wanted to be a star. From the time she started singing in her local church choir, the young Texan had fame in her sights.

Knowles became a member of Destiny’s Child, a popular female R&B group, before embarking on a solo career. The 23-year-old has since taken the world by storm as an actress, songwriter, producer, model and award-winning singer.

While she seems like a natural, Knowles says it hasn’t been easy. “I’ve worked harder than anybody I’ve ever seen,” she said. Her drive, focus and dogged determination to succeed has seen her overcome obstacles to achieve her dreams.

Knowles had a definite goal in mind and worked towards it. Where many people fall down is that they are afraid to set out a career plan for fear they might not achieve it and would feel like failures, says Jackie Fitzpatrick, a life and career coach who heads up Freedom Unlimited.

“What people want is a guarantee but, as we know, there are very few guarantees in life,” she said. “So we just settle for drifting through life, making ends meet and leaving little time for further planning.”

Those who do sit back and assess their lives sometimes realise that they have chosen the wrong career path.

At that stage they may be in their thirties with family and financial commitments. “Deciding to plan the rest of their career at that point can be daunting,” said Fitzpatrick.

There is no need to be put off, however, says Rowan Manahan, the managing director of Fortify Services, the career management and outplacement firm, as planning ahead is something we all do every day.

“We would never get into our cars and go on a journey without a destination in mind, so why do we not have a destination in mind when it comes to our careers?” said Manahan.

Your career is more than likely your sole revenue stream in your life and it governs your wealth and a large part of your happiness, so it is important to create some kind of a working plan.

This can be done by recognising the skills and knowledge that you have acquired through your life and then aligning them with your values, says Fitzpatrick.

“Ask yourself what is important to you in your life and what ways of being do you value most. Then generate a list of projects and careers that are possible manifestations of your ideal work vision,” said Fitzpatrick.

A career plan should be broken up into short-, medium- and long-term goals, says Cathy Roberts, a life coach. “Like any goals, it should be a ‘smart’ plan. That means it should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely,” she said. Targets should be written somewhere you can see them often to remind yourself what you are aiming for.

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