Writing Your Mission Statement

Sometimes events in life cause you to stop and ask questions such as, "Why am I here?  What am I doing with my life?  What really matters?"

After losing our 13-year old son Nick to cancer four years ago, I found myself asking all of those questions quite regularly.

As I have muddled through my grief, I have had to do some real soul-searching.  If your life has had its own share of highs and lows, I'm thinking you've done some soul-searching along the way too.

A couple of years ago, I found this book by Laurie Beth Jones entitled, The Path:  Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life.  I decided that if I had to get out of bed every morning and face the world, I needed to know why and how I was going to do it successfully.

When we were challenged recently at work to write a mission statement, I remembered reading this book.

I dug through my nightstand this morning and found it, because I wanted to share a few things I learned from this book that might help you as you write yours.

First, a mission statement should be no more than a single sentence long. 

 (Note: This says "should" not "must."  The reality is that the longer your statement becomes, the more easily you will forget what it says.)

Second, a mission statement should be easily understood by a twelve-year old.

Third, a mission statement should be able to be recited by memory.

As I was reading Laurie's book, I underlined several sentences.  One that really struck me was this:  People cannot find their missions until they know themselves.  I truly believe that if we take the time to look in the mirror and really ask the question, "Why am I here?"  we will uncover things about ourselves that make us understand why we do what we do.  

Here are some more quotes from the book that might help you:

Ask yourself:

What most excites you in or about the world?

What most angers you in or about the world?

How can you use what excites you to affect what angers you?

Every mission statement requires action, and action words are verbs.

A good mission statement will be inspiring, exciting, clear, and engaging.

She shares this example from a music teacher:

My mission is to enliven, encourage, and reinspire the love of music for children in public schools.

She also encourages you to think about both your personal and your work life.  How can your mission statement move you forward in both?
I believe that outside of work, we still want to have full, meaningful lives.

I like to think of my mission statement beginning with the words, "I exist to............."

This way of thinking helps me remember why it's worth it to face the world every day even when it's hard.

Here's mine:

I exist to equip, empower, and energize those around me so that their lives can be used to their full potential.

When I think of life like this, it helps me become a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, and ultimately a better employee.

I wanted to take a couple of minutes on this Friday morning to write a few words that I hope will help all of you as you think about your career, your personal life, and your future.

If you want to borrow my book, just send me an email.