The four elements are essential keys to a powerful life mission. It’s vitally important to craft a life mission statement for yourself, just as it is for a business to do so for its existence. Creating a life mission statement helps filter and guide the overall and critical decisions one needs to make in life. If we don’t make these decisions intentionally, someone else will make them for us.
#1 – Principle
Principles are the qualities and foundational core values in which you strive to live upon, those in which you vow to uphold in every situation you face in life. They are important elements of your character that define the quality of your integrity.
Principles can’t be bought with money but they can earn it.
Manners – being kind and respectful to others
Morals – doing the right thing with integrity
Respect – the position someone holds
Character – the quality of one’s conduct
Common Sense – not quite so common theses days
Trust – hard to gain, easy to lose
Patience – all good things are worth waiting for and sometimes it ‘is what it is’.
Class – honorably carrying yourself with dignity and manners
Hard work – giving you best effort to whatever you decide to do while doing it consistently
Organization – Most everything with a place and in its place
Cleanliness – clean and neat as cleanliness is an element of godliness
Honesty – is the best policy
What are your BIG WHYs?
Which are the principles are near and dear to you?
Reflect and list out several of the most important ones to you.
#2 – Passion
Passion is the emotional force that drives a person. You would do these things for free most days, any time. They charge, energize and fill your soul with abundance.
Love what you do and do what you love.
Like Eric Liddell experienced in the movie Chariots of Fire when he said that when I run, I feel closest to God. God made me to run fast. Here is his quote:
“God made me for a purpose. God made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
What activities empower you?
List those.
#3 – Proficiency
Proficiencies are the talents and skills that you are above average in executing. Being proficient means that a task is done both fast and well, quickly without quality suffering.
Think about the subjects in school you earned excellent grades without having to study extraordinary.
All new endeavors take time to master; crawl, walk and run. But which ones do you run well and long?
What areas of life do you excel and crush it?
Which tasks are you naturally good at?
Which ones have you developedvia education and experience?
Note what you are especially good at (this is not the time to be bashful).
#4 – Pain
A great purpose is to ‘comfort the afflicted’ and ‘afflict the comforted’ to take positives steps forward.
You likely may have been a bit startled or curious about why Pain would be on this list. There are two types of pain: good pain and bad pain. Good pain comes from growth, exercise, expansion, change, etc., while bad pain comes from carelessness, recklessness, evil behavior, etc.
Sacrifice is required, as the saying holds true: ‘no pain / no gain’. We have to ‘give up to go up’ at times. Great things are worth working for and waiting for. A true measure of a successful life is helping people be happy to forcefully extend what that means while providing relief and prevention of bad pain.
What are you willing to sacrifice and give up to go up to fulfill your mission and obtain your goals?
List those now.
Your mission statement
It is time to harmonize each of the four P’s. Now, write out your personal life and mission statement. Keep it in front of you, revisit it regularly, memorize it, internalize it and do it every day for the rest of your life.
TIP: If you are struggling, enter your notes into ChatGPT, give it elements of your persona and ask it to produce one. Then reflect upon it and tweak it to fit like a glove.
TIP: Once written, share with a few friends, mentor, etc and get some feedback.
1My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; 2for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.
3Never let loving devotiona or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
7Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8This will bring healing to your body and refreshmentc to your bones.
9Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest; 10then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; 12for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:1-12
This passage is so rich and full of pure wisdom in these 12 verses. And don’t stop there…as v13 digs into wisdom and so forth.
1. Faith
God, Spiritual, Relationship & Religion
AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL (life), AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND (thought, understanding), AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
Mark 12:30
Commandment #1. It’s not commandment #1 because God needs the control, it’s #1 because He is all that and then some and we need and are best of with all of Him. If by faith, we give Jesus Christ our heart, He will have our back.
God, in His triune yet unified being, created us in His image. We are different than the rest of His vast creation. We have a triune nature. We also have a free will. Let’s put our faith over fear (the false earthly kind). Let us fear God (holy and respectful) with love and honor.
We are spiritual beings living in physical bodies. We are IN the world but should not be OF it. Let’s excel in both simultaneously. This is what true religion is about. It’s the process of converting the spiritual invisibility into practical reality, both personally and corporately.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
2. Family
Spouse, Parents, Siblings, Children & / or Relatives
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. 6Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Other than our Spouse (at least in my culture), we did not chose our family, God gave us our family by His sovereign will. It’s a truism that we can pick our friends but not our family. But we can pick our attitude and choose our reactions. Let us pick love, namely the storge and agape qualities of love.
God also gave us Christians brothers and sisters in Christ. Spiritual family you might say, a combination of friends and brothers of other mothers.
Blood is thicker than water.
3. Friends
Inter-dependent / Intimate Relationships with Friends, Co-workers, Acquaintances & Community / the general Public (neighbors)
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Mark 12:30
Friends come in all different kinds of degrees: best, close, buds, neighborly, facebook, passersby’s, etc…
Are you generally a friendly, caring and kind person?
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
For physical training is of some value, but godliness (spiritual training) is of value in everything and in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.
1st Timothy 4:8
It’s a well know factor that exercise helps the body stay healthy. Regular elevation of our heart beat, sweating, sunshine, deep breathing, mental refreshment, and so forth are healthy. Fitness is an imperative component to life. So let’s control what we can and trust in God with what’s outside of it.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:32
We know that a comprehensive and clean diet leads to good health with moderation and avoiding gluttony. Yet, their is more to food than consumption. It’s an opportunity to be grateful for God’s provision.
21My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment. 22They will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. 23Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. 24When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. 25Do not fear sudden danger or the ruin that overtakes the wicked, 26for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare.
Proverbs 3:21-26
Drawing furthermore from Proverbs 3, we can gather the paradox of ‘sound judgement and discernment’ from verse 21 to the confidence in the Lord in verse 21. What an amazing dichotomy of personal discipline coupled with the Lord’s provisional protection. This leads to peak mental and physical fitness when we can truly rest, sleep and restore. Clean living and eating leads to optimum health.
5. Function
Purpose, Position, Career & Work
Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,
Colossians 3:23
We see God at work during creation. God gave Adam work to do before the fall. God expects is to work diligently and unto Him. To leave this world a better place, to be a good steward.
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
1st Peter 4:10
This is crux of servant leadership. We go up when we give up for others. We are more likely to get what we want and need when we help others get what they want and needs. Yes, givers gain, sooner or later what goes around does come around.
Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Proverbs 10:4
Wealth for good is not bad. Money is not bad but becomes bad if we love it more than God. We are to love people and use money not the other way around by using people and loving money.
10You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance, 11my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
12Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. 15From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
2nd Timothy 3:10-17
And we know that God works together all things for good to those loving God, to those being called according to His purpose,
Romans 8:28
We were created for a purpose. When love God and work for His purpose, it all works for good in some strange and mysterious yet true way.
6. Finance
Money, Income, Giving, Saving & Spending
9Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest; 10then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10
More awesome wisdom from Proverbs 3. It’s a godly principle that givers gain and when we give to God, He will bless us.
Even God worked 6 days and rested on the 7th. This is good pattern for us, as He so stated.
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry.
For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 8:15
Solomon suggests that we seek to enjoy life the best we can. That we should make the most of whatever we got and be merry.
Scripture tell us that the “Joy of the LORD is our strength” in Nehemiah.
It is part ‘mind of matter’ and also ‘mind in matter’ but what matters most is what matters to God. When He matters most, when His utmost is our highest, then we are at our zenith.
8. Further Learning
Study, Education and Wisdom
“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.”
Proverbs 18:15 BSB
“A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.”
Proverbs 24:5 BSB
Furthering one’s knowledge, skills and abilities is essential to having a fulfilling life. Learning shouldn’t stop after the formative formal education has been completed.
In today’s rich information age, gaining access to quality teaching on varieties is abundant. The key is be well rounded in generalities (science, law, politics, religion, history, literature, current events) yet becoming a expert in a few things which you are deeply passionate about. Dedicate the time and delve into mastery of subjects in which connect your head to your heart and result in action with your hands.
It has been reported that it takes 10,000 hours / approximately 7 years to master a particular skill / subject. Leaders are readers and we earn when we learn.
With AI tools so readily available, use them as mathematician does a calculator, as a mechanic does with scanning an engine trouble code or an effective executive does with an assistant.
Always remember, it is a tool and not a replacement for critical thinking and decision making.
Furthermore, continuous learning is more than head knowledge, it also includes EQ, as our emotional quotient is also important, if not more so than IQ and KQ. We are wise to study and learn about people and relationships. We need to know thyself first and know others too. We need to learn to forgive, what to forget, what to discern, and how to guide our hearts.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
Hosea 4:6
God here is referring to a willful lack of piety, a puffed up prideful independence and arrogance from God’s ways and principles. I believe this carries into the New Testament as well. I is one thing to know knowledge, a head knowledge. It is another thing to resonate with it. Lastly, it is to apply it. All three are important.
Knowledge is great but it’s only powerful when applied properly. This experience is called wisdom. Wisdom takes time so better to get started and disciplined sooner than later.
“Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.”
Proverbs 19:2 BSB
Conclusion
7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
8Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.
9Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
11I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
12For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
Wisdom Is Better than Strength
13I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me: 14There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it. 15Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.” 17The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools. 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
Ecclesiastes 9:7-13
Rate yourself regularly.
Rate yourself regularly. Request that others who know you well do the same, if you dare.
Give yourself a score 1 (worst) – 5 (best) in each area.
Mark an arrow if you are up ⬆️, down ⬇️ or the same ➡️.
These 13 rules to live are excellent. The headings below are his words taken off his card pictured above. The smaller case and #hashtags are my supplements.
1. Seek first the kingdom of God and all else will be added unto you.
This is a wonderful scripture that from Matthew 6:33 which implores to obey and abide by Commandment #1 – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”. When we put God first, amazing things happen.
#FirstThingsFirst
2. Attack each day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
We each were created uniquely by God Himself, in His image for His good works. God doesn’t create junk. You are one of a kind with billions of brain cells, the Holy Spirit (if born again and walking the walk) and even more.
I am far from perfect but because I know and love Who is and He loves me, then I am better than alright. I am endowed from on high.
Yes, my best is good enough, no less…no more.
“If God is for me, who shall be against me.”
#TooBlessedToBeStessed
4. Better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today!
Kaizen! I am continuously improving! “Inch by inch, it’s a cinch.”
“Success is journey, not a destination.”
God was there in my past, His is with me now, and He is already there in the future. No Worries.
Renewing my mind daily! Romans 12:2
#Transformational
5. Heroes have no days off.
Trust and true success take a long while to be build. One moment of careless waywardness can crash it in an instant.
Rest and relaxation are essentials. Slacking is not.
Sometimes be a hero, other times be the guide.
Always begin with the end in mind and keep your purposeful mission in mind. Deferring gratification is the stuff heroes are made of.
“There is a SuperHero in everyone”
#Tried&True
6. You fate is in your (head, heart) & hands
“Think, innovate and find solutions. By you talent and effort, you will be known.”
You have been blessed and have the responsibility of freewill. Use it wisely.
1. Head 🧠 – 2. Heart ♥️ – 3. Hands 🙌
1. Up ⬆️ proper mindset for divine wisdom from our Creator 2. In ⬇️ love deep to our soul for peace, purpose and blessing 3. Out ➡️ returning to God and to others for good works
1. Mind [Fluid / Time / Set]
2. Spirit [Vapor / Space / Let]
3. Body [Solid / Matter / Go]
“If it’s to be, it’s up to me…and we”
#JustDoIt
7. Chose a great role model.
Watch ’em, emulate ’em, & make ’em proud!
#LearnDoTeach
8. A smile, being pleasant are small prices to pay for the goodwill and affection of others.
“Be it and you will see it.” is better than “Fake it till you make it”.
#DontWorryBeHappy
9. Discipline yourself daily to be physically (& mentally) fit for life.
If you don’t have your health, you don’t have a lot. We live in physical world and only have one body on this earth. Take care!
