Totally OT: Personal Mission Statement??

[climbgdh]

Probably a strange question but not the first strange question that's been asked here!! :). I've learned a lot here over the 10 years I've been on the forum so figured I'd go out on a limb and ask anyway.

Do any of you folks have a personal mission statement to help / assist with navigation through life and for you to maintain focus on what's important & what you want to get out of life? This is something I've recently started to work on due to some significant life events; divorce, health issues which luckily appear cured (touching wood), current job which is in jeopardy due to downsizing in the industry I currently work in & a variety of other issues. Maybe it's all part of being in my early 50's!!! Do any of you have a recommended website or any reading material for working through a personal missing statement? Currently I'm using the Franklin Covey website which is good but also open to other suggestions. Thanks in advance.......

[echelon_john]

Do No Harm But Take No $h!t.

[climbgdh]

Do No Harm But Take No $h!t.

Already captured that...... :banana:

[OtayBW]

The first one (in no particular order) that I can think of was told to me by this little Greek pizza shop owner gentleman who used to sponsor our softball team years ago:

'Wash your face, wash your hands, and talk to people."
Seems silly and I never thought much of it at the time, but it has stuck with me...

[pinkshogun]

My old man used to say "ya cant soar with eagles if you fly with turkeys"

ive always chose to hang around people that i can unequivocally trust. Myself, im decent but no saint and not in the same catagory as my buds ATMO

[AngryScientist]

"Go fast; and take chances"

[Cicli]

dont sweat the petty stuff and dont pet the sweaty stuff.

[jds108]

Retire early. Seriously.

[climbgdh]

Retire early. Seriously.

Tell me more!!??

That might end up being an option especially considering the state of the industry I'm in right now. First time in 28 years in oil & gas I feel my job is going to get chopped!! Other than paying off my mortgage for new home in new area I could possibly move into retirement..... with options of second career.......

[paredown]

Tell me more!!??

That might end up being an option especially considering the state of the industry I'm in right now. First time in 28 years in oil & gas I feel my job is going to get chopped!! Other than paying off my mortgage for new home in new area I could possibly move into retirement..... with options of second career.......

One of my friends who was good at epigrammatic statements used to say 'Time is the scarce resource. Not money.'

At my age, I think he is right. Spoke with our Habitat director--a decade older, maybe a little more and he was encouraging me to consider joining my wife on her forthcoming trip to Singapore--'You haven't been there, and there are a limited number of trips left." He's right.

[jds108]

Tell me more!!??

That might end up being an option especially considering the state of the industry I'm in right now. First time in 28 years in oil & gas I feel my job is going to get chopped!! Other than paying off my mortgage for new home in new area I could possibly move into retirement..... with options of second career.......

Retired last year at 47. I'd been a cubicle dweller since my mid 20s and by about 35 years old got serious about retirement saving (i.e. living below my means and saving the max that I could). I was looking at buying/starting a restaurant franchise, then the collapse hit in '09, my company went kaput, and I was just looking for a new job in my field - database management. By '11 I had a stable job and felt pretty confident that real estate was at its bottom. Over 5 years I cashed out all of my 401k and bought/built 6 residential rentals. Last fall I quit my regular job and now I'm a landlord. Like everybody says, that's not a great job but the hours that I put in are small. I'm grateful that I timed things correctly - that certainly cut 5 - 10 years off the timeline.

Two things I would suggest: 1- use the retirement budgeting/planning tools available online to see what kind of monthly budget you'd have if you were to retire 1, 5, 10 years etc. from now, and 2- track your expenses closely for at least 12 months to get a good idea of what your living costs really are. Once you're just wondering about budgeting for large unknown expenses (new home roof or long term care insurance for example), then you know you're close or perhaps there.

I can't tell you how contented that I am now that I'm not in the corporate/cubicle environment. It just wasn't for me, but looking back, I don't know how I could have known that when I was 21 and looking for my first real job. I'm not sure how anybody can know.

Does that help?

[dustyrider]

You can't change the past, and you can't predict the future, so you better enjoy the moment!

[Steve in SLO]

Never stop growing and learning.
Leave a trail of kindness and good.

[choke]

Bibo ergo sum. (I drink, therefore I am)

On a more serious note, one of my Dad's favorite sayings..."It doesn't cost anything to be polite".

[fuzzalow]

Treat others as you'd want to be treated yourself.

[chengher87]

The game is the game.

[mbrtool]

Every day is important whether you are aware of it or not...AND.... Love your neighbor as you love yourself!

Ray

[Cloozoe]

Best thing about no longer being in the corporate world is not having to listen to horsesh*t like mission statements and whatever this year's jargon is. So no, no personal mission statement for me.

[54ny77]

"You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family."

[Black Dog]

I have a family rule that I teach my kids: Never give up.

[bking]

We have a company mission statement, and I do remember enjoying the process in developing it.
I don't have one for my personal life. I think instead it's principles that I've used to guide what and why I do it over the past 40 years. That just about marks the point when I decided to try and live a "principled' life. Perhaps they've evolved some, but it's probably more that i've just come to see them more clearly and they're affect on me and the resultant affect upon others.

[Louis]

This would be a good place for me to recommend one of my favorite books:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51CDTKBPNPL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

[Clean39T]

Rollin' just to keep on rollin'..

It's from a Mark Lanegan song and has a bit of a zen vibe to it for me...fits as a good mantra for long climbs and headwinds too...

[climbgdh]

This would be a good place for me to recommend one of my favorite books:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51CDTKBPNPL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Thank you...... another friend has recommended this. I've been meaning to read it for a while now but this will light a fire under me.

[Seramount]

don't always go with the 'safe' option...

take some risks in life.

[eddief]

= not therapy, but working regularly with a person certified to help you keep your eye on the ball. not "the ball" but YOUR ball. what do you want for your limited time in this time zone? gonna stay focused? how you gonna stay focused? if not on your own, then maybe a coach is the ticket. half an hour, once a week...on the phone.

"We help people move forward and set personal and professional goals that will give them the life they really want. Most life coaching clients are healthy, successful people who might be a bit stuck or simply want to make a big change in their lives and want the support of their own personal coach to do so."

[livingminimal]

I dunno. I may be an asshole on the forum, but my whole life and (second) career are dedicated to helping the poor, the homeless, and victims of domestic violence and abuse. mostly kids, or at least, thats where we see the biggest impact.
I eschewed a career in entertainment that could have been pretty lucrative for this life. I started that and gave it up after a few years, doing PR and marketing and doing it pretty well.

Now, I work hard I guess, but often times it doesn't feel like it.

I don't really know how or why I got into this work, honestly. Everyone has some "mission moment" I never had. I just grew up thinking that people had to be helped, and it was something I could do, and do well, and kind of always knew I'd get there.. I cant imagine ever helping to make someone else rich. Thats impossible for me. Even when I was in Ent it was mostly self-employment or a small firm.

There never was a mission statement for me, never was some sanctimonious proclamation. My parents were working poor and divorced when I was 12, but I didn't have a bad or truly hard life.
I dunno. despite all that. no mission statement. I just want to be a good dad and good at helping people.

and an asshole on the forum.

[eddief]

"I may be an asshole on the forum, but my whole life and career are dedicated to helping the poor, the homeless, and victims of domestic violence and abuse. mostly kids, or at least, thats where we see the biggest impact."

benevolent assholes are hard to find.



I dunno. I may be an asshole on the forum, but my whole life and (second) career are dedicated to helping the poor, the homeless, and victims of domestic violence and abuse. mostly kids, or at least, thats where we see the biggest impact.
I eschewed a career in entertainment that could have been pretty lucrative for this life. I started that and gave it up after a few years, doing PR and marketing and doing it pretty well.

Now, I work hard I guess, but often times it doesn't feel like it.

I don't really know how or why I got into this work, honestly. Everyone has some "mission moment" I never had. I just grew up thinking that people had to be helped, and it was something I could do, and do well, and kind of always knew I'd get there.. I cant imagine ever helping to make someone else rich. Thats impossible for me. Even when I was in Ent it was mostly self-employment or a small firm.

There never was a mission statement for me, never was some sanctimonious proclamation. My parents were working poor and divorced when I was 12, but I didn't have a bad or truly hard life.
I dunno. despite all that. no mission statement. I just want to be a good dad and good at helping people.

and an asshole on the forum.

[livingminimal]

"I may be an asshole on the forum, but my whole life and career are dedicated to helping the poor, the homeless, and victims of domestic violence and abuse. mostly kids, or at least, thats where we see the biggest impact."

benevolent assholes are hard to find.

Well we do what we can, you ****ing dickhead. ;)

[climbgdh]

I dunno. I may be an asshole on the forum, but my whole life and (second) career are dedicated to helping the poor, the homeless, and victims of domestic violence and abuse. mostly kids, or at least, thats where we see the biggest impact.
I eschewed a career in entertainment that could have been pretty lucrative for this life. I started that and gave it up after a few years, doing PR and marketing and doing it pretty well.

Now, I work hard I guess, but often times it doesn't feel like it.

I don't really know how or why I got into this work, honestly. Everyone has some "mission moment" I never had. I just grew up thinking that people had to be helped, and it was something I could do, and do well, and kind of always knew I'd get there.. I cant imagine ever helping to make someone else rich. Thats impossible for me. Even when I was in Ent it was mostly self-employment or a small firm.

There never was a mission statement for me, never was some sanctimonious proclamation. My parents were working poor and divorced when I was 12, but I didn't have a bad or truly hard life.
I dunno. despite all that. no mission statement. I just want to be a good dad and good at helping people.

and an asshole on the forum.

Thank you.... you might be an asshole on the forum but this is a great post. :beer:

[climbgdh]

Well we do what we can, you ****ing dickhead. ;)

This is even better....... :D

[exapkib]

Lift where you stand.

[tv_vt]

I think that just the fact that you're wondering what your personal mission statement is, is a good start - 'what is important to me?' is something that all of us should have an answer to, and be something we've thought about. And that's probably not the case.

What is the Buddhist phrase for a question without an answer? Oh yeah, a koan. Something to contemplate to help you find your way to enlightenment.
Sometimes the answer isn't 'the answer.' Sometimes just living with the question is the answer. Asking what your personal mission statement is should maybe be the first thing you ask yourself every morning...

Cheers.

[redir]

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but foot prints, kill nothing but time.

One thing I like about being a nihilist is that I don't need to worry about such things ;)

[fuzzalow]

Nuthin' wrong with an occasional pithy aphorism to live by.

But to summarize your approach to life in a mission statement is like living your life to the complexity of a bumper sticker. But if reading Kahlil Gibran or other inspiration helps get through a rocky patch, that is fantastic and keep on truckin'. Which I guess in its own way is backing up into a mission statement: Live the life you've got.

Any corporate mission statement I've read is a marketing statement even if it touches on something about that company. Things are complicated.

[Elefantino]

Be memorable.