here’s the text of the word doc we got today from Jesse Itzler. Hope to remember to do this before the end of the week.
CREATING A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT AND A CONTRACT WITH YOURSELF:
Great to meet everyone yesterday!! I wanted to share two things with you as mentioned: My personal mission statement and my contract with myself.
As I mentioned in my talk, I created my own PERSONAL mission statement. I want to provide some tips on how to create your own personal mission statement here…and I highly encourage everyone to do so.
First off, there are many benefits to writing a personal mission statement; they help identify goals; they revive motivation and often serve as a guiding light in accomplishing what we want out of life. Typically, they’re clear and concise, and they say exactly what we’re all about. It’s who we are at the core and what we truly want.
Here is mine and two others that I like:
JESSE ITZLER
“To get the most out of my life and to inspire others to live the life they want.”
SIR RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER OF THE VIRGIN GROUP
“To have fun in my journey through life and learn from my mistakes.”
OPRAH WINFREY, FOUNDER OF OWN, THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK
“To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”
FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TO WRITING A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT:
1. Ask questions: What would I regret not doing? What makes me happy? What inspires me?
2. And then ask: What am I good at? What do I like to do?
3. Then explore personality traits: Who am I? What makes me tick?
4. And: What are my values? Dreams? Purpose?
5. Answer the questions above and start writing. Try and keep it simple and stay true to yourself. Remember it’ll be an everyday guide to thoughts and decisions along your journey.
Very often people don’t achieve goals because they lack focus and lose sight. But when you have a defined personal mission statement, it serves as a reminder of who we are and what we want. I bet if you ask anyone who you think is successful, living a vibrant life; they most likely already have a personal mission statement or at least a very solid image of where they want to be.
Additionally, I mentioned writing a contract with yourself. Something you can look at every morning when you wake up to set yourself up for success. This is my contract with myself for those that wanted a copy:
I’m going to say “thanks” first thing in the morning and show appreciation.
I’m going to be the best version of me.
I’m going to try hard.
I’m going to be present.
I’m going to be a teacher to my kids.
I’m going to be giving to myself.
I’m going to act today as if I REMEMBER TOMORROW.
Writing a personal mission statement takes some introspection and time alone to craft, but it’s a worthy investment that costs us nothing. Once they’re written, they help us focus because it’s easier to identify unnecessary distractions—things stopping us from our goals. Our choices and decisions in life become easier because we instantly know if it lines up with our personal mission statement. If something is NOT aligned with your personal mission statements…avoid it. For me, if something doesn’t fit into one of these four buckets: wellness, business, family, friends/charity…I don’t do it.