Want to give yourself an unfair advantage when pursuing a goal? Here's how you prepare...

Preparation betters your chances.

Listed below are some ways to better your chances. 

All of them require preparation, and/or expanding your knowledge, or working on yourself.

Better Your Chances for Successful Employment…

The more job applications you send, the better your chances.

The more people you connect with, the better your chances.

The more pavement you pound, the better your chances.

The more creative your approach, the better your chances.

The more you learn about the places you are applying to, the better your chances.

The more you learn about the job you are applying for, the better your chances.

The more samples of work you show, the better your chances.

The more your work gets seen, the better your chances.

The more you think outside the box, the better your chances.

The more you work on yourself, the better your chances.

The broader your search, the better your chances.

The more you persevere, the better your chances.

The more you modify your resume, and the more you reflect on your failed interviews, and modify your approach, the better your chances.

The more in-demand skills you have, the better your chances.

The larger your skill-set, the better your chances.

The more developed your communication skills, the better your chances.

The more you use metaphors to keep going, the better your chances.

Above all, the more driven and engaged you are, the better your chances.

Better Your Chances For Good Health…

The more you look after yourself, the better your chances.

The more you know about health issues, the better your chances.

The more tools you use, the better your chances.

The more you see problems as puzzles to be solved, the better your chances.

The more disciplined you are about what you eat, about exercise, sleep and relaxation, the better your chances.

Above all, the more driven and engaged you are, the better your chances.

Better Your Chances for Good Relationships…

The less high maintenance you are, the better your chances.

The less needy you are, the better your chances.

The more solid and dependable you are, the better your chances.

The more ethical you are, the better your chances

The more supportive you are, the better your chances.

The more patient and persevering you are, the better your chances.

The more positive you are, the better your chances.

The more attentive and caring you are, the better your chances.

The more interesting and “interested” you are, the better your chances.

Above all, the more driven and engaged you are, the better your chances.

One final piece of advice: 

In life, there are no guarantees. 

But there are always ways to better your chances. 

Preparation is a way to do that. 

Prepare by first asking what am I overlooking? 

What am I missing? 

Then create a plan of action.

Because, as I have repeated throughout this post, the more driven and engaged you are, the better your chances.

When you are young and fresh out of school, or college...

When you are young and fresh out of college, is it advisable to work as hard as possible, and make personal sacrifices, where necessary, for many years, in order to establish a good financial base, for the rest of your life?

Absolutely.

Yes.

Yes.

You are in the prime of life, when you are fresh out of college.

You should aim to turn an academic victory into a dedicated professional journey.

Your brain is young, your body is young.

You should work as hard as you can, and make as much money as you can.

You should work multiple jobs, if it will help you establish a good financial base.

You could have a main gig, and one or many side gigs.

You want to produce as much income as possible early in life, not only so you can get rid of any student debt you have, but to save for future expenses, such as marriage (if that’s on the cards), a house, and retirement.

You should aim to put away a minimum of 20% of your income in savings, and maybe even 50% of your income, if you can manage it.

Live in your car if you have to, scrimp and save, if you have to. Chris Pratt did it. Jim Carrey did it. James Cameron did it. Kelly Clarkson did it. Colonel Sanders did it.

First order of the day is to get a foot in the door.

Take a job, any job, even a highly challenging and inconvenient job, just to get a foot in the door, and gain experience.

Next order of the day, is to put on your money saving hat.

When it comes to savings - before marriage, house, and retirement - you should aim to build up an emergency cushion.

An emergency cushion should cover 6 months to a year of all your living expenses.

You should save this money in a liquid account, such as a checking, savings, or money market account. 

If you put it in a separate bank account, and name the account Emergency Cushion, you will be able to keep your hands off it.

Don’t touch that money. It is only to be used in case of emergencies.

The most common emergency is job loss, but it could be something else for you.

If you have to use some of the money in your emergency cushion account for something, make sure you put the money back again.

Keep your emergency cushion amount consistent.

If you are out of work for a while, your emergency cushion will help you meet your expenses, including your medical expenses.

Establishing a good financial base early in life, will do the following for you:

Enable you to deal with unpredictable events like unemployment, ill health, and disability.

Help you meet expenses associated with health, marriage, children, housing, and retirement.

And finally, it will equip you to ride recessions in the economy, which can sometimes last an eternity, and almost always involve layoffs, plus real estate and stock market crashes.

When that happens, you want to stay invested, following the philosophy I outlined in answer to the Quora question, How did you survive the 2008-2009 stock market crash?