Additional Resources for Business Owners > Mission Statements
Personal Mission Statements

Mission Statements

Personal Mission Statements

Mission statements are not just for companies. What's your personal mission statement?

Your company's mission statement has been effective in helping your business achieve its goals. But what about

If your company can successfully utilize a mission statement to reach its goals, maybe you need to consider creating a personal mission statement to reach your individual goals as well.

Scores of entrepreneurs have relied on mission statements for the focus and motivation they need to realize success in business.

As you might expect, a personal mission statement has several characteristics in common with a company mission statement. Both need to be concise, clear, and informative. Additionally, your personal mission statement should cover the same three areas as your business' mission statement: purpose, activities, and values.

However, your personal mission statement can't simply be a reworked version of your company mission statement. To be effective, your personal mission statement needs to be broad enough to include your business activities as well as your passions and interests outside of the company.

That sounds easy, but determined entrepreneurs often find it more difficult to create a mission statement for themselves than for their businesses. But with a little help, you can create a personal mission statement that is on par with the best corporate mission statements you've ever seen. Here's how to get started.

Your mission statement is not your role.

One of the most common temptations is to limit your mission statement to your current role. Let's say you are the proud owner of an Italian restaurant. Your mission statement could be: To own a profitable, high quality Italian eatery.

Aside from being completely uninspiring, that mission statement isn't flexible enough to accommodate possible future roles. If you are really passionate about Italian food, a better mission statement might be: To promote the best of Italian cuisine to the world. This revised version can encompass your role as a business owner while at the same time leaving enough flexibility for new directions later on.

Your mission statement is not limited to your "to-do" list.

Another common mistake in personal mission statements is to base your statement on your to-do list. Activities are an important part of the mission statement recipe, but ultimately your mission statement can't be reduced to a list of chores and responsibilities.

Your mission statement will define the activities that will consume your time, energy, and focus going forward. If your current activities don't match up with the activities you need to do in order to achieve your goals, the last thing you want is a mission statement based on a to-do list that is completely disjointed from your future ambitions.

Your mission statement describes what makes you unique.

More than anything else, it's important to remember that your personal mission statement should tell the world what makes you unique.

If you're having a difficult time getting started, take some time to consider the passions, talents, and skills that set you apart from other people and then incorporate them into a mission statement that will knock their socks off.