Lets look at something almost every company and organization has, that is a MISSION STATEMENT.  The Mission Statement is a crucial element in the strategic planning of an organization.  Every company, no matter how big or small, needs a mission statement as a source of direction.  A good mission statement should accurately explain why your organizaton exists and what it hopes to achieve in the future.  It should articulate the organization's essential nature, its values, and its work.

At the very least, the mission statement should address three key questions:

1. What is the Reason for Being (purpose)?
2. What the company is doing to address the purpose?
3. What principles or beliefs guide the company?

Now, let us move away from the company concept and focus on the individual.  If life is worth living, it should be worth preparing for and planning.  While the starting point in business is a Mission Statement, I believe that it should also be the foundation for our personal life.  Writing a Mission Statement for a company requires a lot of work and input.  Writing a Mission Statement for oneself can be a lot of fun but at the same time very difficult without input.

There is an easy way to get input.  It is called Visualization.  Or being a Futurist.  As Stephen Covey would suggest, close your eyes and take a mental journey into the future, to your funeral.  Visualize your friends and relatives giving your eulogy.

What did they say about your life?
How did they describe you as a person?
What did they say was your legacy?
How did you affect their lives?

When they mentioned the things you did, were they the things you said you wanted to achieve?  How well did your values match what the presenters had to say?  If you want to live dangerously, visualize what the three people in the rear of the room, who were not really good friends, had to say.  What would their negative position say about your life?

This little exercise is just another way of looking at your life.  It is a view from another perspective, but a valid one.  Take some time to write down what you heard from each individual.  Using these comments, create your own personal Mission Statement and Business Plan.

Your Objective in Life.
The Goals needed to attain your Objective.
The Strategies necessary to achieve those Goals.
And finally, how you are going to measure your degree of success in achieving each Goal.

Some closing thoughts:

Life is like a coin, you can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once.
Time is like money, you can throw it away or you can invest it in the future.
You can't change who you are, so deal with it.
You can't go back and start a new beginning, but you can start now to create a new ending.
You have the option of planning your future, or you can let someone else do it for you, and they will.