Coaching Tip – Success Starts With A Powerful Mission Statement

Your Vision

Having a vision of success can provide direction and motivation for a person’s goals and actions. It can help them focus on what they want to achieve, and provide a clear picture of what they are working towards. Additionally, a vision of success can serve as a source of inspiration and provide a sense of purpose.

Exceptional life coaches will remind you that a Personal Vision is an accomplished picture of your True Self in the future. An effective personal vision includes all the important elements of your life and career; it is who you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to feel, what you want to own, and who you want to associate with. Although your vision helps you to see into the future, it must be grounded in the present. It is a statement of who you are, and who you are becoming. It is the framework for the process of creating your life. Your vision is where you are headed, and how you get there is your mission statement.

Coaching Task – Your Personal Mission Statement

A Personal Mission Statement is how you will manifest your Vision in your daily life. It may be a few words or several pages, but it is not a “to-do” list. It reflects your uniqueness and must speak to you powerfully about the person you are and the person you are becoming on your journey toward success.

Remember, it’s okay to be where you are while heading somewhere else. The only place you can start is where you are right now. Having a personal vision does not mean your life changes overnight. But it will change. Your mission statement provides the steps to get you there.

Your Personal Mission Statement should answer three questions:

1. What is my life about (Purpose)?
2. What do I stand for (Values)?
3. What actions do I take to manifest my Purpose and my Values?

Stephen Covey writes that an empowering Mission Statement: 

• Represents the deepest and best within you. 
• It comes out of a solid connection with your deep inner life. 
• Is the fulfilment of your unique gifts. It’s the expression of your unique capacity to contribute. 
• Addresses and integrates the four fundamental human needs and capacities in the physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions. 
• Deals with all the significant roles in your life. 
• It represents a lifetime balance of personal, family, work, community-whatever roles you feel are yours to fill. 
• Is written to inspire you-not to impress anyone else. 
• It communicates to you and inspires you on the most essential level.

“Creating a Personal Mission Statement will be, without question, one of the most powerful and significant things you will ever do to take leadership of your life. In it, you will identify the most important roles, relationships, and things in your life – who you want to be, what you want to do, to whom and what you want to give your life, and the principles you want to anchor your life to, the legacy you want to leave.

All the goals and decisions you will make in the future will be based upon it. It’s like deciding first which wall you want to lean your ladder of life against, and then beginning to climb. It will be a compass – a strong source of guidance amid the stormy seas and pressing, pulling currents of your life.” Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

A Personal Vision/Mission can help propel you into a new job or make your present job work better for you. The more connected your Vision/Mission is to yourself, the better it can guide your career and your life.