Personal Mission Statement

There is a book that has changed my life irrevocably and forever. It required great energy, patience and time to read, one with much meaning and very deep in content. In fact, after struggling through the first two Principles outlined in this book I found myself putting it away on the shelf. For nearly a year it sat there and I didn't pick it up again until I had another reason to. The second time around I could not put the book down and took prolific amounts of notes. The third time I read it I learned even more.

This book is about self, about becoming the true you and living your life optimally. This is not a pep-rally or a psychological breakdown of "The 100 Top Tips to Boost Your Self-Esteem". The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is all about understanding where you can (should) be taking yourself in your life.

The influence, the support, the understanding, the energy that Dr. Stephen Covey discusses comes from within yourself; it is not an external influence that fades as soon as the source is gone. You create it; you live it; it becomes you and you become it. These principles are not subject to the whims of others. You create yourself, you build upon yourself and you become an effective person in your life through learning to help yourself and others. You learn how to graduate from dependence to independence and then even further on to a higher level: interdependence all by looking deeply within yourself and following seven sound principles that are laid out in a very logical, rational and emotionally-sound manner. The principles behind Dr. Covey's ideas are based on faith in self, community and God. He helps you to understand the philosophy, "Love Me for Me."

In The Seven Habits, Covey talks about the Personal Mission Statement. This is a project that you create, write, rewrite over and over until it describes the person you most want to be. Then you simply spend the rest of your life living those beliefs until you become that person. It is probably the easiest, yet most difficult thing you will ever do in your entire life. Why? Because you must devote your entire life, and energy to this task. How easy it is to become side-tracked and slide into old habits of comfort. But these old habits are the ones that you want to rewrite with new, better habits. This is a difficult road to follow. It is also, without a doubt the most rewarding activity you will ever do in your entire life. After all, the most rewarding things in life are often the most difficult.

What you are about to read is my personal mission statement. I am working on it every day to try to become the person that I want to be. I read it regularly, add to it, reword it, delete and correct often. This way I know that I will be always staying on the right path to achieve my goals.

If you would like to try reading this book for yourself, you can probably order a copy at any bookstore (ISBN: 0671708635) or simply visit Amazon.com and type the author's name or the title of the book and it will come right up.

• Every minute of my life is precious; I do not waste any of it.
• I work 24 hours a day to find ways to improve myself.
• My last project of every day is to produce a restful, rejuvenating sleep.
• I complete every project I set out to do to the best of my abilities.I am not afraid of risk or challenge, yet I do not take unnecessary risk.
• I try new things often.
• I prioritize: tasks that I put aside are replaced by more important ones, then returned to and completed.
• I love life.
• I smile a lot.
• I retain the child's wondrous curiosity and ask many questions.
• Beneficial change is a good thing and I seek constantly to find better ways to do things.
• I believe in effectiveness with people and efficiency with things.
• I am a giver; I bring happiness to others.
• I know my limits and constantly test them.
• I do not binge.
• I believe in allowing others to have the space they need.
• I express my ideas and opinions readily, yet I do not force anyone to adhere to them.
• I am always open to new ideas.
• I am flexible.
• I am in total control of my emotions; they do not control me.
• I focus my energy on what I can improve and change; I do not waste time on things outside my circle of influence.
• I am responsible to my partner and consult in all matters of importance.
• I believe that differences in people are their very strengths and therefore cherish and nurture them.
• I do not judge people.
• I value integrity, honesty and moral values.
• I look at my mistakes as learning experiences and profit by them.
• I am physically, emotionally, mentally strong.
• I do not limit myself; rather I try to go beyond the boundaries set upon me by most people.
• I listen to what others say more than speak what I have to say.
• I plan weekly, not daily because I know that I can achieve more this way.
• There is a song in my soul which I always hear.
• I strive to find the source of that song and to express it's beauty fully and completely.
• I have natural rhythm; my heart beats, I breathe in and out; I put one foot in front of the other.
• I use this natural rhythm to create beautiful music.
• I am always reading a book of value ad learning something from it.
  

Cam Switzer
January 30th, 1999