Your passion fuels your personal mission in this world. Your passion is the intersection of what you are good at, what you love, and what breaks your heart (how you want to serve). The way you live out that mission is varied and exciting.
While your passion does not guarantee success, creating a Personal Mission Statement will increase and boost your chances of creating the business God designed for you.
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In this post, we’ll go over five elements to include in your Personal Mission Statement. I call them the five ‘musts.’
Why is the Personal Mission Statement so important? Because it gives you security and guidance for your direction and brings wisdom and power to your purpose.
What is a personal mission statement?
Let me begin by saying what your Personal Mission Statement is NOT. It is not your chosen title or even the industry you are in, and it is not your business plan.
It IS the foundation for the profession you have chosen, the industry you decided to participate in, and the business you have launched. You can take many directions for your Personal Mission Statement, and God has you living it out through business.
Personal mission statement example
Let me give you the example of my statement: To equip believers to share their faith in bold and creative ways: to their friends, to their family, and in their marketplace.
I have been living out this Personal Mission Statement in many different ways over the years.
- As a Bible study teacher, I empowered women to learn more about God’s Word and how to witness to family members.
- Then, while in a direct selling company, I sold faith-based products for the home and showed women how to use hospitality to open up conversations with friends and family about God.
- And now, as a business coach, I encourage and teach strategies and techniques that help women practically reach out to those in their sphere of influence in their families and their marketplace.
There is no one way to live out your Personal Mission Statement. God has chosen to have me do it through business at this time. And I imagine you feel the same way.
Five elements to include in a personal mission statement
But let’s start crafting your Personal Mission Statement that will be the foundation for what God is calling you to do.
First, it MUST be personal
Here are some questions for you. Write out as many things as you can that come to mind immediately. Don’t think about the credentials you need, the education, or any other type of training.
- What would you do if there were no restrictions?
- What are you good at doing?
- What do you love to do?
- What breaks your heart?
Here is my example.
- I am good at seeing the vision and then breaking it down into actionable steps.
- I love teaching. I love everything about it, creating the lessons, planning the activities, implementing the plan, and watching the AHAs when the students get it.
- My heart breaks when I see women feel guilty for not being about to do ‘all the things’ they think they ‘should’ be doing to serve God.
After you write your list, look at where things overlap and how things fit together. This is a good indicator of where your heart is and how God has equipped you to show up in the world.
The Personal Mission Statement also must coincide with the values you have in your life. In Calling Clarity, this is one of our first exercises. Why? Because I have found that many women put their personal values on the back burner to live up to the values placed on them by others’ expectations.
Secret: It’s okay not to have ‘family’ in the top five of your values list, even if you are a Mom.
Making your Personal Mission Statement, just that, “personal” can be challenging when you have had many different roles and wear so many different hats.
Under all that responsibility lies your core personal mission—how God wants you to make His name known and to whom.
Second, it MUST be positive
Our brains are naturally wired to go toward the negative. It tends to give us a play-by-play of past failures and, therefore, shouldn’t attempt in the future.
Let’s reframe this and think about it this way, How do you want to be remembered? You can impact how others view you by consistently living out your Personal Mission Statement.
Write out three things you want to accomplish with those God has called you to serve. How can you contribute to solving that thing that is breaking your heart about them?
Three things I can think of off the top of my head are:
- Create habits for them to grow their faith
- Understand how they can serve God where He has them in business
- Provide practical approaches to business principles and share their faith
Remember to focus on Who you want to be, What you want to do, and for Whom you want to impact. The goals and decisions you make in the future are based on the answers to these three questions. And that motivates you to live into and up to your potential.
Third, it MUST be in the present tense
If you noticed, my statement, To equip believers to share their faith in bold and creative ways: to their friends, to their family, and in their marketplace, is in the present tense.
I didn’t say I will equip believers or I want to in the future. No, it says plainly what it is I do and am doing. After looking at your intersection of what you are good at, what you love, and what breaks your heart, you may even see how this statement played out in some way in your past.
It is vital to keep it in the present because this statement is a living document driving your day-to-day activities, your decisions, and your future planning.
Fourth, it MUST be visual
This is fun because creating a statement you can put yourself into is the key. You must be able to imagine yourself actively doing the things you say in your statement.
Many of the activities I do right now in my coaching business are reflected in my statement.
- Using Bible verses and prayer to start my client meetings, as well as having a Bible study available for them so they can grow in their faith.
- I have created many resources to help my clients build habits that work for their faith life and their businesses.
- And there are many opportunities for discussion, Q&As, and mentoring, so they understand that serving God is done through serving their clients.
As Christian entrepreneurs, we have only one mission. . . to make disciples. Therefore, every activity you do in your business needs to go through the filter of scripture. Ultimately, that means showing God’s goodness to others and building relationships that may lead to a conversation about Jesus.
Take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine yourself using your expertise, experience, and giftings to help those you want to help. See yourself fixing their problem. What are you doing? What have you created? How are you working?
This is the place God has you. This is where you are His ambassador in the marketplace. Your Personal Mission Statement will be lived out in that space.
Fifth, it MUST be emotional
Your Personal Mission Statement goes to the very core of who you are created to be. God has given you your values, interests, abilities, gifts, and more so you can be who He has called you to be.
This emotional attachment to your mission statement can also translate to your passion. With this type of attachment, you are willing to work harder to accomplish your goals. As an entrepreneur, this is very important.
It gives you tenacity, or persistence, to keep going even when things are not working out as you thought they would. Knowing you have a deep connection to your mission gives you the courage to keep moving ahead.
A foundation of stability and guidance
From my time working as a Bible study teacher to selling faith-based products to becoming a business coach, my Personal Mission has been the same. I want to inspire (and teach) you to live into what God has called you to do and to share Christ with others.
The Personal Mission Statement is a guiding force for what you really want to do. It provides stability and lets you know you are on the right path. There is power in having it always before you because it gives you the wisdom to do the right thing at the right time.
Remember, the Personal Mission Statement MUST
- Be personal
- Be positive
- Be in the present tense
- Be visual
- Be emotional
It reflects who you want to be and what you want to do according to how God has designed you. It is the roadmap to your success and satisfaction in your calling.
Wow! I love digging down into the heart of God’s Calling. I know that it has been transformative for me during all these years of doing the next thing God has called me to do, it has been transformative for my clients, and it can be transformative for you too.
Don’t skip this vital exercise to really understand God’s calling. Are you looking for help? Do you want to stop feeling like you are just spinning plates and doing everything? Let’s have a chat. Then, make an appointment for a clarity call- TODAY.
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