Mission statements – What are they, how do you write one, why, and what are some personal mission statement examples you can use for inspiration?
But first – Why bother?
The people you look up to all over social media. The entrepreneurs, the people doing “big things”.
They’ve all got personal mission statements that they live their lives by.
A mission statement is a journey of self discovery. They’re not wishy washy wastes of time – they’re the “know thyself” that you need to really live your life like your on a mission.
- Missions do big things
- missions give you faith,
- they give you motivation,
- and transform you into an unstoppable force.
People who have personal mission statements walk a bit head first into life with confidence, certainty and an “I’m gonna kick your ass” attitude.
The problem is, you have to dig deep to know what kind of mission you’re on.
Questions arise like:
- Do I choose the mission?
- Does the mission choose me?
- How do I make others care about my mission?
- I don’t even know what I want my mission to be? How do I create a vision for it?
But nobody ever showed us how to create our own personal vision – and that’s a problem.
So in this post I’ll show you exactly how I radically transformed my life and business by digging deep and fashioning my own personal mission.
But first…
What is a (Personal) mission statement?
A good mission statement distills what you are, how you want to be seen, and who/what matters to you into a palatable and nutritious master plan that (ideally) will not fail.
What is a good mission statement?
A good mission statement takes a vision and turns it into an action plan.
Example of a mission statement: My mission is to mitigate the trade offs of my country’s view on capitalism by being generous to the homeless and poor, and educating companies on how to maintain honor and integrity in a world that wants them to pander for popularity and revenue.
Example of a bad mission statement: I want to make my country a better place. (more of a generic desire than an actual mission)
What should a personal mission statement say anyway? Think about this conversation between Cody Lundin and Joe Teti from the show Dual Survival (one of my favorite shows to watch and re-watch).
“How much preparation goes into planning a mission” – Cody
“Weeks. Sometimes months.” – Joe
Joe was in the military. You wont need to spend months preparing a mission statement but you should take it that seriously. This is what you’ll be spending your life doing.
The best examples of a personal mission statement will have the following as their key components:
- Your Core Identity
- The impact you leave on the world
- Your mission as a whole
Your mission statement is what you do each day (short-term goals) to reach the end result that you would like to see someday (long-term effect). A personal mission statement is not only your GPS guidance system, but it serves as a reference point for all the decisions you make in life.
We use mission statements to be the deciding factor when it comes to making basic and strategic decisions.
- they’re who you want to become
- who you imagine yourself to be
- embody your world philosophy and how you see yourself
In a world where you have endless options that could occupy your time, getting results in your personal growth requires that your actions be effective, and a personal mission statement gives you a map for doing so.
Mission statements are:
- A strategy for getting the results you want in life
- A map that shows you how to reach the summit of your dreams
- A story you tell about the impact and mark you will leave on the world
- Your guide for saying “yes” and “no” in a sea of endless options
Read: Mission statements are not the same as Vision Statements!
What are the 3 parts of a mission statement?
The three main components of a mission statement are your vision (as an action step), the group you help, and the problem you solve for that group.
What is a Good Mission Statement Example?
“My/Our mission is to aid health care workers achieve a balance between work and life so that their own health doesn’t suffer while they aid others.”
Personal Mission Statement Example’s
“I’m meant to be a factual, focused and organized person. My mission in life is to bring structure and foundation to third world countries so they may stop being so exploited by the first world. Also, to help people with no sense of direction in life find a path that will create stability where they can thrive.“
“I’m an intuitive, giving, insightful and creative person, and my mission in life is to help companies and organizations in the world gain insight into the problems they’re having when the normal strategies don’t work. I do this by taking a different, insightful approach to fixing their problems when they’re used to doing everything by the book. Also, I want to help less imaginative people think outside the box so that they can come up with creative ways to solve their problems.“
“I’m meant to be a ambitious, self confident, and deliberate person and my mission in life is to help new political leaders made sound and effective decisions while in office. Also, to help people during their mid life crises make careful planned decisions so that they can take back control of their lives.“
“I’m charismatic, idealistic and outpsoken person. My mission in life is to help others connect with those they love when they have trouble finding things in common. Specifically, I like to hel parents connect with their children during their teenage years so that they can foster good relationships early on in life.“
“I’m a sensitive, energetic, and sociable person and my mission in life is to create a sense of belonging and companionship in the lives of those who’ve been abandoned. I enjoy helping the elderly feel loved when they have no family, or their current family is not able to spend time with them. I also work with adopted children to help them understand their parents so that they dont grow up feeling abandoned.“
“Words that describe me are ambitious, idealistic, goal oriented and practical. My mission in life is to help new entrepreneurs develop strategies for their budding companies and help them have serious impact on society. Also, to help individuals set goals that will help them feel fulfilled in life so that they can exist in a state of passion and purpose.“
Short Personal Mission Statement Examples
- To teach the middle class how to invest their earnings wisely.
- Showing college students how to be fulfilled after school.
- To instill a love of learning in small children.
- Giving senior citizens the inspiration to become leaders in their communities.
- Educating people on how to have rock solid mental fortitude.
Examples of Personal Mission Statements for your Career
- Educating entry level workers on how to identify with the company vision.
- To make sure higher level executives aren’t out of touch with the lower level employees.
- To go above and beyond my duties as a matter of integrity.
- To focus more at work, instead of watching the clock.
- To appreciate that I’m capable of earning an income.
Personal Mission Statement Examples for Leaders
- To be as efficient with my companies resources and time as possible.
- To remember that I used to be entry level and listen to my employees.
- To understand that not everything matters, only efficient tasks are a priority.
- To constantly learn how to do my job better.
- To make my work environment pleasant to be in for myself and others.
Personal Mission Statement Examples for College Students
- To embrace my time at college and take full advantage of what is offered.
- To set myself up so I’m prepared monetarily for after school.
- To embrace moderation with my work and recreation.
- For the next four years, I will find what I am truly passionate about.
- To learn book knowledge, but also discover my unique place in this worked.
Personal Mission Statement Examples for Nurses & Healthcare Workers
- To take my own medical advice and create health in my own life.
- To speak medical truth regardless if its popular.
- To instruct others about health so well I’m eventually out of a job (because everyone is healthy).
- To prioritize my sleep and lay off things like caffeine and cigarettes.
- To instill confidence in patients when they need a pick-me-up.
Personal Mission Statement Examples of famous people
So, what are some good examples of a mission statement? Check out these popular individuals below and what their missions are.
- “To use my gifts of intelligence, charisma, and serial optimism to cultivate the self-worth and net-worth of women around the world.” – Amanda Steinburg – Dailyworth.com
- “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.” – Oprah Winfrey‘s mission statement
- “To have fun in (my) journey through life and learn from (my) mistakes.” – Richard Branson‘s personal mission statement
- “To live life with integrity and empathy, and be a positive force in the lives of others.” – Amy Ziari
- “Improve lives. The concept of improving lives runs through the center of everything I do.” – Will Smith‘s Personal Mission Statement
- My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. – Maya Angelou
- I shall not fear anyone on Earth. I shall fear only God. I shall not bear ill will toward anyone. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering. – Gandhi
Mission Statement Examples of Big Organizations
- To honor and empower wounded Warriors – Wounded Warrior Project
- To inspire and empower people affected by cancer. – LiveStrong’s Mission Statement
- To create content that educates, informs and inspires. – PBS
- Bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries. – Charity Water’s mission statement
- Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future. – National Wildlife Federation
- To build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. – American Heart Association personal mission statement
- To provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. – ASPCA
How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
So how do we create our personal vision statement? Easy
- Figure Yourself Out. Who are you?
- Describe what you do. Who are you? And what do you do?
- What Transformation would you like to see in the world?
- Combine all of these elements into a simple statement.
Here are some Personal Mission Statement Examples for Life areas across the board, but first…This is the simplest formula for how to write a mission statement.
Difference between Vision and Mission
This is the difference between life vision and life mission.
Vision: A future without disease.
Mission: To spread healthy food opportunities to parts of the world who don’t have them.
The vision is the foundation for the mission that achieves it. Healthy food helps prevent unnecessary diseases in humans.
Step 1: Know Thyself
Find a huge list of nouns on the internet somewhere and pull some from the list that describe who you are now, or who you desire to be in the future. Try to come up with a list of nouns off the top of your head that describe you as a person right now.
Answer these questions:
- Who are you?
- Why are you?
- Assume there is a reason for your existence: what is it?
Step 2: What Actions Do You Take?
- What do you do?
- How do you do it?
- How do you look when you’re doing it?
Also Read: How to Answer “What Should I Do With My Life?”
Step 3: The Change You Will Cause
- Look at the world in it’s current state, where are the holes in the worlds armor that you plan to patch up?
- What skills do you plan to use to do this?
- What causes will you support?
- What ideals do you stand for?
- Who will you serve?
Step 4: Combine Everything Together
Give yourself the freedom to simplify everything into one sentence. Write down a sentence that combines who you are, what you do, and who you do it for.
Mission Statements: Other things to Consider
Who Will You Help?
It helps to narrow down a specific group that you will serve. This could be a group that suffers through something you’ve conquered already, a group you sympathize with, or a group that is affected by the impact you desire to make.
What Path Will You Travel?
Let’s be honest: life is nothing but a serious of paths we take. These paths are made up of choices we make, and those choices define the experiences we have. The dreaded comfort zone is what makes our life dull and gray looking. In fact, most of humanity is living a life in black and white. So when we understand that all path’s can be traveled by everyone, and everyone can do so simply by choosing to, which path will you take?
A good way to craft a broad idea of the path you will take in life, think of fictional characters and what they represent
- The Magician: is imaginative and makes our wildest dreams reality
- The Innocent: simply want’s everyone to be happy and comfortable
- The Outlaw: desires revolution, justice, fights for a cause and creates innovation
- The Sage: is always seeking the truth underlying our material illusion
- The Jester: makes fun of things other’s take seriously, carefree and silly
- The Lover: live life in passion, pleasure, romance, and sensuality. They seek out beauty.
- The Explorer: everything in life is one giant adventure
- The Ruler: they desire power and resources
- The Caregiver: only wants to nurture others create environments conducive for people’s growth
- The Hero: desires to see other’s be the best they can be by throwing challenges their way
- The Regular: just want’s to belong and befriend everyone
- The Creator: more practical than the magician, creators make things like toilet paper, rather than the magician, who would imagine a toilet with spray jets.
Write Your Own Eulogy
Pretend you’re a person speaking at your own funeral…about you. Write down a few sentences about what you would say to get an idea of who you desire to be in the future. You’ll still be yourself, but a more refined version.
Take the Gravestone Test
Kain Ramsey has what he calls the gravestone test. You draw a headstone on a piece of paper, and write in what it would say about you. I actually have that exercise that he uses with his own clients and I’m allowed to share it with you.
It’s something you can do on your own – copy the image below onto a sheet of paper, and write down what you’d hope others would say about you after you die.
Don’t let it get you depressed – it’s just an exercise!
Figure Out Your Personality Traits
Places to start:
You can also check out: The Big 5 personality types, Your Astrological sign, Meyers-briggs, your personal ruling archetype for ideas on what qualities you embody as a person.
What Are Your Core Values?
As a self-development/personal growth author, I put out a decent amount of content about goal setting, goals in general, motivation, procrastination etc… So here’s my experience with myself and others and I think it will help you a bunch.
Nothing will motivate you more when the going gets tough than a set of values that needs to be more present in the world.
For example, whenever I don’t feel like writing, I automatically think about the people in this world who want positive change in their lives and don’t have access to the information they need.
Instead of thinking about the pain that comes with doing the work, think about the pain that accompanies not having the results that the work gives you.Click To TweetThat gets me off my ass and to the computer with my books to work.
[thrive_megabutton mt=”ALSO READ” st=”How to Set Life on Fire by Being Self Motivated” color=”blue” link=”https://thelifesynthesis.com/self-motivated/” target=”_blank” align=”aligncenter”]Some of my values are
- Independence and freedom
- Choice
- Adventure
- Responsibility
- Freedom of, and access to life-changing information.
These are the things that keep you going when it’s cold and rainy outside because they almost feel bigger than we are, like our vision and mission need to be done and we have to be the ones to do it.
Take the core values quiz here.
How Will You Change the World with your Values?
A vision statement is really about the change you want to see in the world. Or at least, how you plan on living your life such that this change occurs. If you look at the small list of my values above, you can see why you’re even reading this article that I wrote.
- I imagine a world where everyone takes responsibility for their own happiness and life experiences
- I think that people should have the freedom to do so, and have access to the information to aid them
- Ultimately, I see life as one huge adventure, and I think we all have the choice to shape it to our liking
Can you see how that turns into a personal growth blog?
By spreading information about personal growth, I help others eliminate obstacles to their own happiness that they may not have known where there.
I compile the most relevant information that everyone can pick from to learn about themselves, others, and the world they live in, so they can navigate it better.
To get started with creating your personal mission statement example, tilt your head up and to the left, and start daydreaming about how awesome the world could be if it transformed like [FILL IN THE BLANK].
Then, decide what part you’re gonna play in that transformation.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of which avenue (method) you’ve chosen to pursue a mission statement is highly recommended when pursuing any meaning in life. How could you dispense with a tool that requires deep introspection and the full strength of your imagination? It not only allows you to discover who you are, but plants the seed required to formulate a master plan to pursue whatever dreams you may have.
A vision leads to a mission, and a mission will always involve some type of service that not only challenges you and serves others but allows you to leave a live where someone else is saving you and transforms you into the hero.
My favorite Tools for this
Goal Setting 101 (for individuals)
High Performance Leadership (for leaders of organizations and groups)
