The cast rehearses the performance. The bridal party rehearses the ceremony. The platoon rehearses the operation. The team rehearses the play.

So why don’t we rehearse our dreams?

Now that you’ve got a plan, it’s time to test it. It may look good on paper, but we need to determine how it will hold up under the weight of the real world.

Leap Task #22: Test your plan against reality.

Two suggestions for testing your plan:

1. Get it vetted by someone else. Run your plan by someone who:

a. Hasn’t been a part of your planning process

b. is very practical, loves details, and believes in you.

2. Wargame your plan. Run through your plan step by step. As your progress, bring up all the possible obstacles you anticipate facing—each at the appropriate time in your plan. Don’t hold anything back. Then work your plan—apply resources and adapt as events unfold. At the end, make notes of lessons learned and adjustments you made, then run it again trying out the changes. Repeat as many times as necessary—or possible.

What did you learn from testing your plan?