From my upcoming book Think Big: Living from the Inside Out
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Often in business circles you will hear several of these terms thrown around without a clear definition.
You will hear people talk of a having a mission statement or a vision statement.
Rarely do you hear them talk about having what I believe is the most important, a personal or corporate purpose statement.
I want to help you by giving you three simple definitions of each of these very important areas.
Before I start, let me give you some examples of famous purpose, vision or mission statements:
· John F. Kennedy made the following statement in 1961 ‘we will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade’ creating a very public mission statement for the United States of America.
· Reebok: “Our purpose is to ignite a passion for winning, to do the extraordinary, and to capture the customer’s heart and mind.”
· Walt Disney: “To make people happy.”
· Wal-Mart: “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.”
Let’s go through and look in depth at the three different types of statements and give you clear and workable definitions for each, here is a summary to start with:
A Life Purpose Statement arises out of your Life Purpose.
A Vision Statement arises out of the vision that your purpose gives you
And a Mission Statement arises out of the plan that your vision statement compels you to complete
Life Purpose
Your life purpose is :
That thing that is the reason for your being.
It is the thing that gives your life meaning.
Vision
Your Vision is:
Your Calling
Your calling is that vocation that you can give yourself to unreservedly.
It is the occupation that arouses the passion and desire for life and excellence.
Mission
Your Mission is:
Your Daily Mandate
After you go through your Life Purpose and Vision, you get down to the particulars of your mission on the planet.
This forms the plan for how you will get from where you are to where you want to go.
From where you are to where you feel compelled to go
The exercise of asking yourself the questions about these areas of your life is something we spend time doing with Senior Executives, business owners, community leaders, and other passionate people.
You don’t have to have a position to have a purpose, you have to have a passion.
This passion, this inner drive, this purpose, leads to your vision in life that ultimately the manifestation of your day to day mission
Bette Davis said:
My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.
Denis Didero:
Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.
Georg Wilhem:
Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.
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