I belong to an online community that was started by a personal development author. It has been one of the most supportive, inspiring, motivating communities of which I’ve ever been part, and I’ve been getting a lot out of it.

Recently, the author partnered with a national retail chain and released a collection of 2020 calendars, planners, and journals. She has a formula that she uses for goal setting and success, and these items can help people plan, stick to, and hopefully, achieve their goals. The community went BONKERS for these items. So bonkers that the items basically sold out all over the country. This author has busted her butt and deserves all that success and then some. That’s not my issue.

My issue is that so many people within this community are completely bummed that they were not able to get these tools. They don’t have the awesome planner. They couldn’t find the beautiful journal. The calendar was gone, gone, gone before they could get out to buy one. They are bummed. They are feeling left out.

Here’s the thing though, guys:

You don’t need a special planner, journal, or calendar to set a goal and achieve it.

Will a pretty planner make it easier? Maybe. But do you need the pretty journal to write down a goal, break it into steps, and start taking those steps? Nope.

What you need is a vision and maybe a spiral notebook or the notes function on your mobile phone. Hell, maybe you can keep that kind of thing right in your head. What matters is that you set a goal and follow through with the steps it takes to meet it. The items you might use to plan don’t really matter.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good planning tool – office supplies are some of my favorite things. Many times, I’ve gotten a great new planner or agenda or calendar, and I just knew all my wildest dreams would come true once I filled it out. Sometimes they did, but often, the planner would be forgotten at the bottom of a drawer or stack of paper. Planning is great, but it’s the follow-through that takes you to your goal.

And no pretty planner in the world can do that for you.