There is a great deal of cynicism, I find, in business today about the whole idea of mission statements. A number of years back, in the UK, everyone seemed to think that having a mission statement was a good idea. Now that most UK businesses have them, everyone is left wondering what all the fuss was about in the first case. Many people feel they just don't work for organisations; and so they feel there is clearly no need to think about having a personal mission statement. However, I would like to encourage you to think about writing one for yourself.

The reason is simple: it will help to give you clear focus on what is important. If you take your time to construct a mission statement that is a true reflection of your intentions, you will be able to use it as the yard-stick by which to judge all future decisions about the use of your time. It will help you stay on the right track for the remainder of the year; and ultimately, it will assist you in achieving your goals. Here are the characteristics of a good mission statement:

* A Good Mission Statement should be:
* A Clear Statement of Intent
* Short & Memorable
* Inspirational
* Forward-Looking

You should not worry about spending plenty of time on the construction of your statement. You want it to encapsulate what is truly important to you; and to do that well, you need to take time to reflect on your priorities in life. You will actually find that the time you spend on this activity will repay itself over and over again in the future.

You don't need to show this statement, once you have constructed it, to anyone else; just write it down and display it somewhere you can regularly expose your mind to it. Keep it in view if you can. Carry it around with you or find some other way of reminding yourself over and over again to read it. My own mission statement is on my website. It's not there for anyone else; in fact, it;s hidden under a secret link. It is there for me - I can easily read it from any computer anywhere in the world so I can expose my mind to its message.

The importance of having clarity on what is going to be your mission, cannot be overstated. So I hope you will take the time to do this exercise and to do it well. Decide for yourself what is important to you in this life - that is the first step to achieving it!