Creating a Mission Statement

Having a personal mission statement has been on my list of things to do since for-eva ago!  I have always thought the concept of such a thing was valuable, since having direction and purpose always yields much more lasting and meaningful results.  I have come up with several demos and have thought them to be pretty good, however, never truly felt connected to any of them.

Last week I heard the quote: "A leader makes decisions quickly but changes her mind slowly."  This statement impacted me in regards to developing my mission statement.  I figure it is better to begin somewhere with one and then as I progress through my life I can evaluate how it is performing for me. 

What does a personal mission statement have to have in it in order to serve its purpose effectively?  Well, the deepest requirment I feel is the ability to make you think about the moves you make in life.  If you have a meaningful mission statement for your own life you will always be able to move from where you are to where you want to go because of the phrased you coined to lead your life.

Also, I think it is perfectly okay to borrow another mission statement.  If you hear a statement that rings very true for you then go ahead and use it as your own.  The purpose is that now you have a MISSION!  That you are not just a casualty walking aimlessly through this precious gift of life, but you have direction and purpose. 

Finally, a mission statement shouldn't be more than one or two sentences in length.  If you walk into some businesses you would see that they completely disagree with that.  You'll see some mission statements that are paragraph lengths long and very tediously padded with huge words.  Mission statements need to motivate you toward them, not bore you by sentence number forty four.

So what is my mission statement?  Drum roll please....

"To inspire people to move in the direction of their dreams by constantly moving in the direction of my dreams."

Is it a perfect final draft?  Most likely not.  However, instead of just continuously aiming for who knows what, now I can begin in a solid direction.  I want to inspire people to lead fulfilling lives and help them to feel free and to love life.  The best way I know to do that is by being an example of doing just that for myself.  Have you created a mission statement for your life?  Put one together today and live by it, remember you can always reevaluate and change it later, the important thing is to take action now.

To your dreams!