What is Your Personal Mission?

I found a really cool website the other day. Leadership organization FranklinCovey offers an online "Personal Mission Statement Builder." Basically, it asks you questions about your values, skills, and goals in life. It then frames them in a "mission statement" format, so that you can read it back to yourself as a reminder of where you are heading in your life. It's a really good idea; you should check it out!A mission statement is incredibly important to have. For a business, it provides focus to keep executives from spreading resources too thin or in the wrong direction. Each business exists for a specific purpose, to serve certain customers. When it strays away from its purpose, it loses its customers. A mission keeps a business grounded and focused. A personal mission is the same way: it keeps us focused on what we are trying to accomplish in our lives. We may not be in the same job forever, but we will want to stay true to who we are and what we value throughout our careers and our lives. A personal mission helps us do just that. A personal mission statement adds validity to our mission. It spells it out. Below is a copy of the "personal mission statement" I built on FranklinCovey's site:

I am at my best when I follow through with my promises..
I will try to prevent times when I feel lazy, fearful, or uninspired..
I will enjoy my work by finding employment where I can make a positive difference in a customer's life..
I will find enjoyment in my personal life through making my wife happy..
I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as resourcefulness, humor, and empathy..
I can do anything I set my mind to. I will write good quality content and share it with others..
My life's journey is to lead my wife with confidence, live out my faith with certainty, and improve the lives of everyone I encounter..
I will be a person who has mentored and positively influenced the lives of others so that they will continue to be successful and make positive contributions after I'm gone..
My most important future contribution to others will be to make them feel like I've set them up to be successful..
I will stop procrastinating and start working on:

•Being more consistent.
•Being less fearful.
•Paying more attention to life.

I will strive to incorporate the following attributes into my life:

•Sales acumen
•Unapologetic faith
•Intellectual curiousity

I will constantly renew myself by focusing on the four dimensions of my life:

•Getting cardiovascular exercise on a regular basis.
•Maintaining a daily prayer life and engaging in Scriptural reflection.
•Reading about sales and self-improvment.
•Initiating conversations and interacting with people.


My personal mission statement says a lot about my career goals, but it isn't only about my career goals. It expresses the values I have for my wife, my faith, my acquisition of knowledge, etc. It is a statement of what I think it means to be the best me that I can be. I'll continue to tweak it as life goes on and I gain further insight into who I am and what purpose I serve in this world. But, all in all, my mission is something to which I want to stay true. It is mine and mine alone. If I don't accomplish this mission, who will?

What's your mission? Have you thought about it? Have you written it down? Now is the time. Determine for yourself who you are and why you are here. Then, live faithfully to that purpose.