“These days the business world is knee deep in beautifully crafted mission statements. A finely polished declaration of a corporation's principles is nice, but it's service rather than sonorous prose that generates repeat business. So if you feel compelled to write your own mission statement, remember these points: keep it to two or three do-able standards, and work like hell to put each one of them into practice every day.” (Unknown)

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” (Japanese Proverb)

“As you emphasize your life, you must localize and define it; you cannot do everything.” (Phillips Brooks)

I cannot stress enough the value of clarity of vision. Writing down your goals and in having them recorded in very specific detail, with a definite timeline for completion.

Our goals need to be sourced in a larger vision of what we want our life to be about. This provides much needed leverage in pulling those goals towards us.

At the end of your life of what will you be most proud? For what do you want to be remembered? What will you regret not having achieved?

What determines the commitments you have scheduled in your diary? Is your life being lived by your design or other’s agendas?

What are the things that hold you back from fully living your passions? Are there ways to minimise these, therefore moving you toward accomplishing your dreams?

Who are the experts and friends you will seek out to support you in your quests? Is there a great collection of personal development books collecting dust on your bookshelves?

Do you have time scheduled in your weekly diary for a review of your goals and to fine-tune your action plans for accomplish your goals?

Do you always have absolute clarity whether something to which you say yes or no is a perfect fit with your life vision, your dreams/wishes, your goals and what you want? Do you have enough leverage attached to each of your goals to generate sufficient personal courage to say yes or no when you want to or need to?

Write down all the challenges and doubts you face with achieving your goals till you can think of no more. Alongside those items that you know to be 'truth' write an action you can take to begin dismantling and disappearing it. Determine which of these actions you MUST take and schedule them in your diary for a specific date and time. Then of course, do as you say in your calendar!

To really get a sense of where you are spending your hours and where you could pay more attention, a must visit site is: http://www.pathofhappiness.com/slife.html and rate your score on the sphere of life.

Two terrific sites to visit which provide useful tools for generating your own personal mission statements are: www.franklincovey.com (click on Mission Statement Builder) http://www.quintcareers.com/mission_statement_development.html (read the two recommended articles on this page and the rest of the site is also worth exploring)

Tip: If the links (above) are not 'live', then simply cut and paste them into your browser.

2005 © Thea Westra is an international life coach who resides in Perth, Australia. She is editor and publisher of a free, monthly newsletter which you can receive by going to her website http://www.forwardsteps.com.au She also publishes a blog called Triggers http://forwardsteps.blogspot.com

• Make an Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals


• End Goals vs. Means Goals


• Where Do Goals Come From?


• Cause-Effect vs. Intention-Manifestation


• Integrity in the Moment of Choice


• Dynamic Planning


• SMARTER Goal Setting


• The Power of Clarity


• Cultivating Burning Desire


• Setting Posteriorities