What's Your Personal Mission Statement?

Happy Wednesday from the other side of ankle reconstruction surgery. I've been pretty restricted on recovery activities to this point, which sounds like a holiday, but let me assure you, it is not. Especially with two littles running rampant!

#TRUTH

Needless to say, I've had a little time to think - which is a dangerous proposition in light of the pain meds - but now that I'm out of my Percocet stupor, I'm diving into Entrepreneurship class and doing some excellent reading. I've always been fascinated by business and the start-up of the Greater Grand Junction Sports Commission has truly been an entrepreneurial effort. At any one time, I am usually at various points in at least one Audible book, one Kindle book and just because my free time abounds, a good ol' fashion hard copy book as well. More frequently than not, these books are related to some aspect of business.

You may consider my philosophy akin to casting a wide fishing net. In my case, I read a couple books a month outside of class, with the hopes that I'll reel in at least a few fish - or bits of knowledge - that I can mull over and potentially apply in some area of my life, whether personal or professional.

Photo Credit: Will Gervais

I strongly believe the aggregate of the information helps shape who we are and how we live.

In entrepreneurship class this week we are starting to develop our mission and vision for our business plan project. I have a specific project in mind (I'm not going to spoil the surprise yet). But it got me thinking from my  couch-ridden state...

I've formulated a mission and vision for the sports commission from its onset. And, right now our organization is working with some amazing consultants from Phoenix-based Huddle Up Group to revisit and refine our overall strategic plan, inclusive of mission and vision. It's one thing to develop a business-related mission and vision, but another to develop a personal mission statement.

Enter Stephen Covey Habit #2 in his acclaimed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:

Dave Ramsey also has an excellent book, called Entreleadership, in which he discusses both facets of missions and visions, personal and professional. I know I probably made a half-hearted attempt at a personal mission statement when reading Entreleadership the first time many years ago, but it's time for a revisit.

I don't know about you, but I need daily reminders of priorities and the direction my ship (personal and professional) is pointed. I'm constantly reminding our key stakeholders, employees, student workers, board members and others that the overarching goal of the sports commission is to make a difference in our community's economy and quality of life through sport...but what about me?

What's my personal mission statement? Does having one help hone my time, priorities, and likely result in better overall quality of life (and likely productivity)?

I contend it does. So I'm issuing a challenge.

One I'm taking on myself. I challenge my readers (believe it or not, there are a few hundred of you now), to spend some time this week formulating your personal mission statement. This isn't just "I want to be a rocket scientist", this is how do you want your time here in this crazy life defined?

I will do the same, and I will post mine in Stoll on Sports next week. Regardless if you are a student intern or the GM of the LA Dodgers, personal mission statements are absolutely imperative.

I had a great conversation with a friend yesterday and we were talking about how sometimes in this circus of life, you can blink and realize that your life is being steered by demands, not driven by you. Creating a personal mission statement is one way to take control and articulate in real, well-thought-out words, the foundation of your life.

Some other great friends of ours run a Christian retreat camp in the beautiful San Juan mountains and wrote a book called The View from the Rocking Chair. I encourage you to check it out as it's all about how you will reflect on your life when you are old and rocking on your front porch (boy, do I look forward to those days!).

Additional resources on mission statements are below.

Until next time, this is been Stoll on Sports. Ponder this quote by the famous Zig Ziglar "Outstanding people have one thing in common: An absolute sense of mission."

Personal (and professional) Mission Statement Resources:

• Dave Ramsey's How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
• Forbes list of 13 CEO personal mission statements
• Forbes article on Mission Statements
• More on Missions from Stephen Covey
• MindTools (Professional mission statement practices can be applied to personal mission statements)
• Entreleadership Podcast (great resource on a plethora of topics)

Happy writing (and likely re-writing!)