Vision and mission statements are written records of your dreams, personal statements of what you want to become, accomplish, feel, experience, think, own, associate with and impact. Your vision and mission statements will give you a sense of purpose, motivation, focus and energy, as well as help you face fear head-on and keep you on track when your journey starts to go off the rails. Their purpose is to tell you what you really want and what is truly possible, what your future could be.
Your vision statement is focused on your long-term future, whereas your mission statement focuses on your short- to medium-term future. There is no universally accepted timeframe for a mission or vision statement, but a mission statement generally has a one- to three or five-year timeframe. Your vision statement is from five years to an endpoint that sees the realization of your individual dream.
Vision and mission statements complement each other. Your vision statement is written with an ultimate goal in mind-your destination. Your mission statement is a short-term target on the journey to your vision.
Your vision statement is made up of many successive mission statements that move you one step closer to your long-term vision or dream. Your mission statement is a way of breaking your dream-your vision-into manageable sizes. It's a way to focus your energy on a target that's not too distant in the future and not so much of a complete change that it seems unobtainable.
Both your mission and vision statement should be ambitious, inspirational and a reflection of what you wish to accomplish. They will be used as the basis of your goal- setting plan.
Your mission statement is your challenge to yourself. It reflects what you want to focus on and accomplish. It clarifies, prioritizes and crystallizes your true wishes from your conflicting, distracted and jumbled thoughts.
Whereas your vision statement is a record of what you'd like your life to look like (i.e., your vision of life), your mission statement is much more active (i.e., you're "on a mission.") It's your record of the immediate hurdles you want to jump over.
Your mission statement doesn't have to be a set length, but you may find it easier to write, remember and accomplish a shorter, more to-the-point mission statement. Three to four sentences should do it. Your mission statement is essential to establishing your goals, and will take you a step closer to achieving your vision.
You can find plenty of mission statement generators online that will help you quickly create an effective mission statement. Of course you can write whatever style or content of mission statement that works for you so do create your own unique one if you feel so inclined. The most important thing is that you create your mission statement, that is written and that you place it in a prominent place so you'll see it all the time, such as on your fridge or computer screen, in your wallet, etc. Look at it twice a day at least-once when you wake up and once before you go to sleep. That way you'll be in the best possible position to completely fulfil your mission.
Related Articles
Why Connecting With Others Is Key To Success
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Self Help
I don't think I can express enough the crucial importance of contacts. I could rattle off statistics like the Federal Bureau of Labor research that 70% of all jobs are found through networks or axioms like "It's not what you know but who you know", but the truth is that...
Wealth Creation Success Means Taking The Right Action
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Self Help
Some people are naturally hesitant when it comes to taking action. The time is never right or they want to know more first before taking the plunge. These people fall into the "paralysis by analysis" camp. Their mantra needs to become the Nike "Just do it!"
Conversely there are people that...
Wealth Comes With Understanding Income
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Finance
We all think we know what income is. For most of us it's simply the salary we earn in exchange for our time. More precisely it's the money, or its equivalent, that's received in exchange for labor or services, from the sale of goods or property, or as profit from...
Financial Statements: Wealth Starts With Your Personal Financial Statements
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Finance
Financial Statements Introduction:
Financial statements generally take the form of records of the financial performance of a business. They provide information about the profitability and general financial health of the organisation. A company's financial records usually consist of:
* Income Statement
* Balance Sheet
* Cash Flow Statement
An income statement, also called a Profit...
Your Wealth Creation Arsenal: The 7 Reasons Why Real Estate Is Your Essential Tool
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Real Estate
Real estate (both residential and commercial property) is perhaps the best way for the average person to generate wealth. There are many reasons why real estate is such a brilliant way to fast-track your wealth plan and why it's so popular with those who want to become wealthy or are...
What Percentage Of People Are Rich?
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Self Help
The 5% club:
The Capgemini and Merrill Lynch 2006 World Wealth Report found there were 8.7 million millionaires in the world-2.9 million in America, 2.8 million in Europe, 2.4 million in Asia, 300,000 in both the Middle East and Latin America, and 100,000 in Africa. Given there are 114 million households...
Wealth Formula: The Secret To Wealth Creation
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Finance
The Wealth Formula succinctly depicts the components that are necessary for you to create real wealth. The Wealth Formula is shown below:
M+K+P+A=W
It identifies four essential wealth creation stages and the relationship between them. These are:
Wealth Mindset
Wealth Knowledge
Wealth Planning
Wealth Action
It links each of these four component through the plus sign, +,...
Creating Cashflow: Using Covered Call Strategy To Pay You Cash
By: Emlyn Scott | 29/05/2008 | Finance
I'll assume in this article that you already have the basic understanding of stocks and options. If not then it would be worthwhile to read about these investments first. The covered call strategy brings together stocks and options to form a third strategy...a cash flow strategy. The covered call strategy...
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a bargain store in holiday fl, my partner ...
By: frankie | 20-07-2008
i have a bargain store in holiday fl, my partner gamble all the money away i am sitting in a empty store i need money to obtain product for my store can u help?
Credit Damage
By: Cindy | 20-07-2008
what is more damaging to your credit report credit card lates or a foreclosure?
Where do I access fall 2008 schedule for Montco ...
By: 2thDoktor | 19-07-2008
Where do I access fall 2008 schedule for Montco Community college/Pa.
Insurance
By: beth | 19-07-2008
I found a insurance number that both my deceased mother and sister shared , they both recieved checks from this company. Community Mutual Insurance, How do I find out what policies they had and for what? Thank you
60 and over community
By: Kay kirchner | 19-07-2008
Looking for a 3 rooms on first floor or a little 1 floor rancher not a lot of money we are on ss so we can not aford alot in a little community not real far we live in philly
Looking for home based business with good support network
By: JoJo921 | 19-07-2008
How does an intelligent man who's willing to put in the work find a home based business thats not a scam? I'm looking for a business that offers a support network that will help you achieve your goals of becoming financially free. Possibly a business that your support group or person makes no money unless you do. Any comments
Q&A Powered by:
More from Emlyn Scott
How To Stay Motivated On Your Wealth Journey
By: Emlyn Scott | 30/05/2008 | Self Help
What is motivation?
There is no universal definition of what motivation is, yet all of us intrinsically know what it is. If you speak to people on the street and ask them what they think motivation is, you'll likely get responses like "it's what drives you" or "it's what pushes you"...
How Do You Estimate Your Normal Retirement Requirements?
By: Emlyn Scott | 29/05/2008 | Finance
Standard retirement plans are quite simple and apply to the middle class and to a lesser extent the financially independent. The following process would apply almost entirely to the middle class pension savings only (the financially independent would have extra personal holdings of assets such as bonds, stocks, mutual funds...
How Do You Sell Options To Generate Amazing Returns?
By: Emlyn Scott | 29/05/2008 | Finance
In this article we will look at how to effectively implement this strategy to increase your wealth. But before we do it's important to recognize that this strategy offers you the benefit of cash returns and easy access to your capital. Why are these things so important?
Cash returns:
Let's look at...
How To Create And Calculate Your Ultimate Wealth Target: Your Vision Statement
By: Emlyn Scott | 29/05/2008 | Finance
The process of creating and calculating your vision statement is a 4 step process:
STEP 1: Creating your vision statement:
Creating your vision statement should be a soul-searching discovery, not a clinical exercise. Your vision isn't something you can formulate and write in one sitting. You'll create it over a period of...
Does Wealth Come From Owning Assets?
By: Emlyn Scott | 29/05/2008 | Finance
The traditional definition of assets defines an asset as anything you own that has some monetary value. While this definition is correct and may seem logical, it is completely unhelpful when it comes to wealth creation. For example, the car sitting in your driveway or even the television sitting in...
Creating Cashflow: Using Covered Call Strategy To Pay You Cash
By: Emlyn Scott | 29/05/2008 | Finance
I'll assume in this article that you already have the basic understanding of stocks and options. If not then it would be worthwhile to read about these investments first. The covered call strategy brings together stocks and options to form a third strategy...a cash flow strategy. The covered call strategy...
Wealth Formula: The Secret To Wealth Creation
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Finance
The Wealth Formula succinctly depicts the components that are necessary for you to create real wealth. The Wealth Formula is shown below:
M+K+P+A=W
It identifies four essential wealth creation stages and the relationship between them. These are:
Wealth Mindset
Wealth Knowledge
Wealth Planning
Wealth Action
It links each of these four component through the plus sign, +,...
What Percentage Of People Are Rich?
By: Emlyn Scott | 23/05/2008 | Self Help
The 5% club:
The Capgemini and Merrill Lynch 2006 World Wealth Report found there were 8.7 million millionaires in the world-2.9 million in America, 2.8 million in Europe, 2.4 million in Asia, 300,000 in both the Middle East and Latin America, and 100,000 in Africa. Given there are 114 million households...
Finance 
