Your MISSION Statement

The next layer to your personal foundation is your mission.  You have identified what you value and you've hopefully developed or drawn a vivid picture of your ideal future...your dream, which is your vision.  The difference between a vision and a mission is that a mission statement is more attainable, yet still far reaching.  A vision is something you are constantly reaching for, giving you inspiration for the future.  A mission, on the other hand, will answer:  who you are, what you do, and why you are doing it.  It may even describe who you are doing it for.  A mission statement is still broad-focused yet more specific than a vision.

For example, Bose Sound Systems mission is: "An uncompromising commitment to delivering lifelike sound."  And, as discussed in the previous post on vision, Nike's inspiration is:  "If you have a body, you are an athlete."  Their mission statement is more descriptive but still inspirational:   "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."   Do you see where the vision and mission statements are different, yet they serve to inspire and define what their focus is?  That's what we should do in our personal lives.  We must find what inspires us and narrow our focus.  So, let's work on our mission statements.  Stay tuned...and have a great day!

Get Inspired with a VISION

Have you developed the foundation of your life by identifying your values?  If not, read the post below first.  If you have, then it's time for the next step.  This is my favorite.  A vision inspires us.  Inspiration gives me energy and passion.  That's what a vision does.  Some people and businesses skip this part because they want to get to the "action" or the "meat" of their organizational or personal plan.  But I find that without a vision, we don't have the mental or emotional fuel we need to keep us on track.  It's still a part of our foundation.

Remember Martin Luther King's most famous speech?  "I have a dream".  He dreamed of the equality of mankind.  He dreamed of freedom for all.  His dream of 1963 is far closer to reality today...but what if he hadn't had that dream or vision?  And, what if he hadn't shared it with the world?  Would we have made as much progress as we have?  I don't think so.  That's what a dream does.  It inspires us toward a better future.  

What inspires you?  Go back and look at your values.  Do those values reflect the person you are?  Now put those values in a short, inspiring sentence or phrase.  It might be a logo, a motto, or a slogan.  For example, Nike's is, "If you have a body, you are an athlete".  Do you see what they value?  This vision doesn't limit their scope to tennis shoes.  But it does limit their scope to the body and being in shape.  That's what they value.  

Another example:  Bose...their values are:  research, technology and performance.  One of their slogans is "Hear The Difference".  That implies that their values lend to a better product than their competitors.  

So try it for your own life.  Take charge of your life through inspiration and a new layer for your personal foundation.  Choose to have a great day.

Develop Your Values

Good morning!  Have you been thinking about the direction of your life?  Or, have you been too busy to think about it?  Well, that could be a sign.  It could mean you are going so many direction that you don't know which way you're headed or that you are so sure of your direction, that you don't even need to think about it anymore!  So if the latter is you, then read no further, but I'd welcome your testimony on how you developed your roadmap and stayed on course.  We could all benefit from the wisdom and experience of others.

Why is it so important to navigate the direction of our lives?  Because if we don't take control of our lives, someone else will.  Have you ever found your days completely filled with things other people wanted you to do and at the end of the day, you realize you didn't do anything you wanted or needed to get done?  You can't count the things you do for your family, especially if your family is one of your values.  But it can count if family member are taking advantage of you when they could have done for themselves the things you did for them.  That's called enabling and it's unhealthy to you and to the person you are doing things for.  Well, I am getting off the subject...enabling is a topic all of its own.

Let's back up a few steps and start with first things first.  Today, begin with listing what you value.  Think of your life as building a new home.  We are going to pour the foundation today.  Although the foundation is not the "fun" part of building a house, it's one of the most important.  It's what everything else is built on and if it's unstable, or weak, or unlevel...then everything else is going to be that way too.  Some people wonder why their lives are unraveling.  Once they start to dissect their behavior, they often realize that everything they've been doing has been for the wrong reasons.  They might say they value family (part of their foundation) but they are never home and never available to the people they love.  So, they either need to review their values or change their behavior!

Our values should rarely, if ever change.  Unless we didn't spend enough time on thinking about our values, then these should remain constant throughout our lives.  So take the time to write down what you believe in...your principles, the core of your beliefs.  This is your foundation.  Take care to use the strongest and best materials to lay the foundation of your life.  We'll go to the next step, Vision, in the next post.

P.S.  As an example, in case you're stumped, go to MorningCoach.com - they have a list of example values that are excellent.  The site also provides a place for you to write your own personal life plan, where you can develop it, update it and keep it for daily review.  (click on the banner at the top of this post - it's free!)  My values are:  Faith, Family, Serving Others, Wisdom & Knowledge