The other day, I participated in a webinar for aspiring authors. (Yep, I'm an aspiring author! What do you think I should write a book about?) The facilitator of the webinar, a coach who helps would-be writers map out and publish their books, shared a ingenious but simple formula for determining your book topic and target audience. As I played around with the formula, I realized that this template is helpful not just for aspiring authors, but for anyone who wants to contribute any type of work to the world. In other words, I realized that I was writing my personal mission statement.

The Personal Mission Statement Formula

Here's the formula broken down; it's very simple:Step 0: Hello, my name is [insert name]. (How easy was that?!?!)Step 1: I help [insert target audience]…Step 2: …do/be/have [insert your skill]Step 3: … so that [insert their result].Put it all together now:Hello, my name is [my name]. I help [target audience] do/be/have [skill] so that [result].My Example:Hello, my name is Courtney. I help ambitious women (like myself!) accomplishimportant life goalsso thatthey can realize their true potential.In my personal mission statement:

• Target audience = ambitious women
• Skill I help them achieve = accomplish important life goals
• Result they receive = realize their true potential

Now let’s go more in-depth on how to do this…

Crafting Your Personal Mission Statement

Who do you help? (Target Audience)

I’m going to be bold here and say that all personal mission statements should be crafted from the perspective of how you serve and contribute to the world. I’m a firm believer that our gifts and talents aren't just for us – we are on this planet to do something and to make a difference for someone/something outside of ourselves.As grandiose as that sounds, this need not be complicated. Simply answer the question – who do you help? When determining who you help, think of the community or types of people your knowledge or your service (even if it's volunteer service) seem to routinely help. Who do you have a “knack” for reaching? Who seems to benefit most from your skills and talents? For me, I am routinely connecting with (and energized by!) women with dreams, aspirations, and goals -- ambitious women, that's who I help.

How do you help them? (Your Skill)

Gaining clarity on your skills can be tricky. For the longest I couldn’t figure out my main skill because my greatest strengths are not very tangible. I used to wish I could say something like “I teach people how to write poetry” or “I create graphic designs” or whatever, something that gave a clear visual when you said it. But just the other day, the light bulb went off in my head. I realized that I help ambitious women accomplish important life goals. This is significant and concrete in its own way! You can’t hold goals in your hand but when you accomplish them, a very real change happens in your life. As soon as I just blurted out what I do in very simple terms, the better I was able to “own it.”Whatever it is you do, even if it's not something tangible like “I save kittens from trees” just state it in as simple terms as possible and own it.

Why do they need your help? (Their Results)

When thinking of why you do what you do, frame the “why” from the perspective of those you help, not yourself. In other words, instead of saying “I help inner-city girls learn technology because I love technology and it makes me feel good,” (i.e. what's in it for you) instead, phrase it as “I help inner-city girls learn technology so that they can build valuable skills that will give them the leg up in their future careers.” (i.e. what's in it for them.) You help them do X to achieve what result?

The Benefits of This Kind of Mission Statement

Though there is no set rule for how to write a personal mission statement, I love this particular formula because it is simple and to the point. The benefits of writing your mission statement this way are:Clarity - A clear, concise personal mission statement will help you focus on what you need to be doing in life while cutting out all the noise. For instance, once you have a rock solid mission statement, you can then determine the skills you need to develop, the things you need to learn, maybe even the kind of education you need to seek in order to help your chosen community of people. People ask me all the time, "What should I go to school for?" or "What career should I pursue?" Instead of wasting a ton of money going after the degree or career everyone tells you you should go for, you can evaluate all your options based on what will most help you fulfill your personal mission statement. In other words, once you are clear on who you want to help and how you can help them, then you know what to study or what career to pursue.Freedom - As women, we are especially susceptible to getting caught up in the comparison game with other women. Instead of feeling jealous about what another person has or is doing, your personal mission statement reassures you that your unique skills are yours and yours alone – you are uniquely equipped to help YOUR community! No need to compare yourself to others because this is your lane. You are free! Even if someone else is serving a similar community, they don’t have your exact skills. And even if they did, that’s not a bad thing. If the goal is for the community to be served then having more than one person doing the work is a blessing!Creativity - Once you get clear on what you do and who you serve, ideas for how to walk out your mission statement start coming to you constantly. This is a function of the clarity and freedom you experience -- once all the noise and comparisons are gone, you can't help but be creative. I experienced this first hand when I came up with my mastermind group concept, The B-Side. I was just sitting around one day, thinking about how much I loved being around ambitious women and what I could add to the community. Then BOOM! The idea, the name, even the design came to me like a lightening bolt! But I know I was only able to see that idea because my focus was so clear. A personal mission statement helps your mind zero-in so your creative juices can flow out.

Things to Note

Your personal mission statement can and likely will change over time. This is not a bad thing at all! As we grow, our skillset grows with us and maybe the community we feel called to reach shifts as well. The point is, don’t get so caught up on these that you break out in a cold sweat when trying to come up with you personal mission statement. Your personal mission statement is simply meant to represent who you are and the work you can do today.You can have more than one personal mission statement. Maybe you're a Renaissance woman with a ton of different talents. Or maybe your personality or life experiences make it so that you a can connect with several different communities or types of people. No worries, feel free to draft a few personal mission statements -- as I stated earlier, there are no hard-set rules. That said, one of your mission statements may emerge as you primary focus over time, which is okay too.

Discussion:

Your turn! I want to see your personal mission statement! Seriously, even if you never leave comments on blogs, I would LOVE it if you participated in this! Just take a crack at the above formula and post it in a comment below. We all have a mission – what’s yours?(photo via)