Find your purpose (Saturated Market)

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Find your purpose

Strategy Yesterday, I wrote about the 7 habits of highly effective people. Well, in a marvelous stroke of coincidence, my good friend Chuck over at I Hate Your Job has challenged me and several other blogs to write a personal mission statement, a key component of Covey's second habit, Begin with the End in Mind. So, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is, and take this challenge, then pass it on. I have no affiliate blogs, but I will ask that if you read this, be it now or a year from when this was written, to post your own, whether in the comments here or on your own site.

Memed from Chuck:

If you don’t already have one, take some time to write a personal mission statement whether you participate overall or not. I’m not talking about a one or two sentence blurb like a corporate mission statement but a meaningful declaration of what you hope to be about in life. Stephen Covey’s mission statement builder might help you, or you can just write it free form.

Avoid putting in fluff and buzzwords unless you’re a corporation–try to create a document that really focuses on actions that you can perform each day and that are meaningful to you.

Got a good first draft? Great. Now copy the text of this post and replace my statement with yours and the blogs I’ve tagged with the blogs you’d like to tag. You can view a complete list of who has participated and read their responses in the comments section of Chuck's post. I strongly encourage you to click here to read it. And while you're there, read the rest of his blog, it'll make you feel better about work. Or at least at work.

Those without blogs should participate in the comments section below.
6 Reasons to Participate

1. It is relevant to your subject matter. Regardless of what you write about, your blog is an extension of you, and your readers care about where you intersect with your subject matter. Rather than a meme about your favorite movie, this is a rare chance for your readers to get to know you while you can still stay on topic!
2. Allow readers and fellow bloggers to see why you care about your subject as part of your life’s big picture.
3. Articulating your personal mission is personally rewarding and incredibly beneficial.
4. Your readers will greatly appreciate you helping them to get started on their statements if they’ve never done it before (most haven’t).
5. It is a worthy cause. Few things in the blogosphere can match the impact of helping even one person bring greater focus to their lives, let alone thousands.
6. Get to know the people you decide to tag

My Mission Statement

Every day:

• I will take responsibility: my rewards, my punishments, my actions, and my consequences are my own
• I will be respectful: old or young, rich or poor, strong or weak, influential or unfluential, everyone deserves respect as a human being, and will return that which they are given
• I will be patient: every second I think I could be doing something else is probably a second I’d spend wishing I had something to do
• I will be understanding: every opinion comes from perspective, and I do not have the same perspective as others
• I will be tolerant: if it won’t matter in a year, it won’t matter in a month; if it won’t matter in a month, it won’t matter in a week; if it won’t matter in a week, it won’t matter tomorrow; and if it won’t matter tomorrow, it doesn’t matter; if it doesn’t matter, I will let it go
• I will be honourable: I will be able to look at myself in the mirror every day
• I will learn: I cannot undo my mistakes, but I will learn from them and be better for them
• I will move on: dwelling on the past will not define my future
• I will accept that I am wrong: if I’m wrong, then I’m wrong
• I will be humble: those who have authority have it for a reason
• I will take action: if I dwell on it, it’s a problem; if I work to resolve it, it’s only a setback
• I will not be bogged down in a bad situation: I will make it better as best I can, but I will know when the time has come to walk away
• I will accept advice: even if it’s not what I want to hear, it may turn out to be a good idea down the road
• I will take with me the lessons of Kenn Grainger, an elderly gentleman I once had the extreme honour and pleasure of meeting with once a week:
1. The best argument I ever won was the one I avoided
2. Always introduce yourself with your full name
3. ATTITUDE is everything!
• I will be fair: I will not treat others negatively
• I will not take bullshit: a person who treats me negatively is a person I don’t need around
• I will: nothing will stop me

As a further addition, I included this list of criteria with my mission statement. They are not part of it, but they are important words that I carry with me in my day to day functions:

• When meeting someone, give your full name, shake their hand firmly.
• Always look at whoever’s speaking when in a group
• Your word is your bond; don’t make promises you can’t keep, and keep all the promises you make
• Set limits: say no every once in a while
• Be confident: look at what you’ve accomplished, and think of all you will accomplish
• If something goes wrong, suck it up, admit your mistake, fix it, and move on. Blaming, giving excuses and whining get you nowhere
• Your responses are your own. Nothing can be blamed wholly on outside factors
• Talk less, listen more. You don’t have to spout your autobiography to everyone
• Always show respect and you’ll get it in return
• Don’t let yourself get baited
• Take a stand for things you believe in
• Never panic; time you spend worrying is time better spent thinking of a solution
• Procrastination and being lazy waste your time and make matters worse; you’re going to have to do it eventually, may as well be now rather than later
• Take responsibility and make decisions, don’t shuffle your feet and expect others to get the ball rolling. Nothing will come of nothing. Don’t wait for things to happen
• Know all the angles, and you can control the situation; do your research
• Pay attention to your surroundings
• Don’t mince words, don’t sugar-coat it: just say it, and mean it
• Act according to your values
• The worst that can happen is never as bad as not trying
• Understand the opposite viewpoint before presenting your own
• Slow down; replace “um” with a pause, and gather your thoughts. Don’t fear silence.

Until next time,

Posted by JW on September 17, 2007 5:57 PM | Permalink

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