What’s your mission?

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This week someone handed me a book that he had just published. I had already known this, of course, as I cheered him on through the process and celebrated when it finally arrived. There’s something special that connects people that experience the same thing.

I know what it’s like to work on a manuscript. I know what it’s like to have someone tear apart your carefully thought out words. I know what it’s like to start out on a goal you know will take years.

I also know what it’s like to do all that and then finally hear the door bell ring. I know what it’s like to tear open that package and hold your very own book in your hands; 5 years of work in the palm of your hand. I know what it’s like to beam in pride when you see your name there. 

After publishing my first book, I’ve had many conversations with people who wanted to accomplish the same goal. It connects us and it has been great to be a part of others’ journeys. For me though, my goal was to publish a book. But my mission is to inspire others; to help others reach their goals through encouragement and strategic planning. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me then, to have this person hand me his book and tell me to turn to the acknowledgements:

I would like to thank Kristen Hubler and her aptly timed book The Impossible Box as it helped me get what was a dream out of storage and to go for it.

Knowing the difference between a goal and a mission is important because the goals change, but the mission is consistent. The mission is the real reason you make it to year 5. The mission isn’t just one goal, it takes many goals which means sometimes you might not even realize when you’re living it.

It would have been very easy to blow past this moment and not celebrate because it wasn’t a specific goal of mine. I didn’t plan to have someone put me in their acknowledgments, but nonetheless it’s a reflection of my mission. The book goal, my Sunday Starter goals, my professional development goals and speaking goals - they all helped make that moment.

If you have specific goals you are trying to achieve, be sure to identify the mission underneath. Articulating why you care about something keeps you going on the tough days and  makes you appreciate the good days that much more.

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