Posted on 01/14/2011 6:32:50 AM PST by CSM
Know thyself, and to thine own self be true, then thou canst not be false to any man. —Shakespeare
How are you doing with your goals for the New Year? If you’ve lost focus, go back to your mission statement and read it over a few times. Do your goals still line up with your overall mission?
But what if I don't have a mission statement?
Mission statements are not just for corporations or high-level executives. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, a retail store manager, a college student or a truck driver, crafting a personal mission statement will serve you well. It’s important because it gives you focus on how to meet your long-term goals. It serves as a guidepost for where you want to go in life. The cost of a mission statement is small, but the outcome is great because, simply put, it works!
Author and career coach Dan Miller says a good mission statement should include your:
1.Skills and abilities (what you like to do) 2.Personality traits (how you operate) 3.Values, dreams and passions (why you want to excel) Take some time to think about and write down what each of those mean for you. That info lays a good foundation for crafting your mission statement.
Next, add the principles you live by to the mission statement. Why did you set these goals? How do your goals make you a better person? The mission statement should answer these questions in 50 words or less. Don’t worry if your statement doesn’t mirror your friend’s; every statement is different because no two people are the same.
Once you have a written mission statement, start using it! Get it framed and put a copy in your home or office so you see it often and are surrounded by your own positive attitude.
Not only should you live according to your mission statement, but it’s important that others know about it as well. You want people to know that you’re going to live up to what you wrote in your mission statement, so spread the news!
Speaking of letting people know, Dave’s company has a mission statement that is posted throughout the building, and every team member is required to know it like the back of their hand. It’s why we exist.
The Lampo Group, Inc. is providing biblically based, common sense education and empowerment which gives HOPE to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed.
Having your purpose written out will add value and productivity to your life. Once you have it, we recommend going through Financial Peace University where Dave teaches a lesson about how to work in your strengths.
What is your mission statement? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
Set goals instead of making resolutions! You’ll find that by writing them down and making them specific/measurable, you will be much more successful.
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I set a goal to attend the Dave Ramsey FPU this year....I started this week!:^)
Dave is right.
I have lived in an isolated country environment most of my life. Doing so, taught me to become self reliant. I heated with wood, grew a garden, raised my own beef, and found a great high paying job. I took out only one loan on a house, but bought and owned the land straight out before I built the house. The house, I mostly built myself and I saved over half the value in the effort. The house was smaller, and very basic, but mostly what I could rightly afford.
I made huge payments on the principle as well as kept the scheduled payments up to date. I saved so much interest by also paying on the principle that the payments dropped in half in the process. I was able to pay off the entire loan in less than 5 years. (over $100,000) I then sold the house and almost tripled it’s value. I built a nicer, bigger home free and clear with that the same way, then put the 80 grand I had left, into investments. That was 20 years ago.
Needless to say that I became debt free at that point. Since then, I have saved at least half of my annual earnings for retirement, bought and sold 4 other homes and made a profit on every one of them.
I have no credit what so ever. In fact, I cannot even qualify for a loan because I have no credit history. I have to pay a deposit to cell phone companies because they say I am too big of a credit risk. (Because they have no record of me ever having credit. My credit score is zero.)
Many of you here, would see that fact as being bad. I see it the opposite because if you cannot live or function without credit, then perhaps you need to reevaluate what it is that you are doing wrong.
Getting debt free requires strict discipline, sacrifice, planning and hard work. Most Americans cannot wait long enough for the microwave to get done these days. And LUCK has nothing to do with it.
Thank you for your testimony!
Although my husband and I are far from achieving what you have, we did manage to pay off our non-mortgage debt in about 22 months (around $17K). We have four kids, with three of them being in Catholic school, and we could not do that if we were still making debt payments. We live on cash only and although we don’t live extravagantly, we are comfortable and have what we need, with a little room for fun thrown in.
I don’t know how many arguments I’ve had with people who can’t understand that not having credit is a good thing. Fortunately, our families are supportive (my sis-in-law and in-laws follow these same principles, and although my parents don’t, they understand why we use them and agree with us). I’ve managed to spark interest in a few people who have heard of D.R., but didn’t know if it would work. It does work, IF you have the desire for it to. In our case, we couldn’t afford for it not to! We have so much less stress than we did a few short years ago, and even the ‘emergencies’—a broken washer, car problems, etc. were easily overcome because we had a plan.
Congratulations on your hard work and success!
I never thought about a mission statement as such- but I do have goals - written out spread sheet fashion- across a sheet of paper in a spiral notebook-
The Goal What I will do What the lord will do Time frame to get done, and last, done or not. If not done, then I rework the goal and start over.
It can be measured and you know if you are succeeding or not.
It also gives you a boost because you can see actual progress being made. some are long term goals some are short. But things get done.
Well, one thing is certain. You are either a devout follower of Dave’s plans, or, more likely, PSYCHO-FREEP happens to be Dave Ramsey’s user name on FreeRepublic.com.
Your story is one to be admired.
Congrats! And I'm facilitating the last session of FPU for our group Sunday evening. It's been a fantastic 91 days (plus or minus a few) listening to and watching Dave as he goes through the lessons.
Baby steps rule!
Awesome! I have only heard good things about it.
“Many of you here, would see that fact as being bad.”
Not me, I have that as a long term goal and will consider it a badge of honor!
Good for you! Enjoy! :)
Impressive! I’m right behind you! :)
“The Goal What I will do What the lord will do Time frame to get done, and last, done or not. If not done, then I rework the goal and start over.”
I like that format! Just add God to any formula for outstanding results! :)
Bump for later. I’ll have to find it...my Mission Statement has been buried under Real Life for the past few years...but I’m digging out! :)
My name also happens to be Dave but of course, circumstances and demographics are much different. The method however, is mostly the same.
Here again, I follow 3 basic and simple rules.
1.) Never buy now with credit what you can easily save up and wait for. (Vehicles, vacations, sporting goods, furniture, appliances, pretty much everything outside of real estate.) Then ask yourself at the last minute before buying; “Do I really NEED this, or do I only THINK I want it?” Then, pat yourself on the back after you defeat the impulse to buy, because you will be shocked on how many times you decide not to waste your money after you think about it a while.
2.) Buy all food, clothing and necessities with cash or debit. Absolutely NO credit. Buy on sale, discount, bulk as much as possible, (Sam's Club, Costco, etc.) Try buying beef, pork and chicken directly from the farmer. In short, save every penny you can in what ever you buy. Evaluate every item's price and compare. Keep telling yourself; “If I can't pay cash for this now, then I can't afford it and I don't need it!”
3.) Completely eliminate the fairytale that you have “DISPOSABLE” income. There is no such thing. This is only a pathological excuse for wasting your money. You may as well pile it up in your yard and burn it! You will actually be ahead if you do, because you will not get in the habit of blowing your money on worthless things or become addicted to self gratification. And, you won't waste additional time, money and energy on activities that are a complete waste of your money.
My last of 2 effective tools is that you save every dime you can. Also, Get a 401-K or IRA, have the maximum taken out. If you are one of those who makes excuses that; “I just can't afford to right now because I won't have enough to make my payments.” Then, you need to immediately eliminate what ever payment it is that is ruining you. (Take drastic measures if you have to!)
Finally, pay off your mortgage before it's term is up. Make balloon payments on the Principle, make sure your contract will allow you to do that. If you can't then you screwed up! If that is the case, then refinance the loan and make sure that it allows you to pay off the principle early. Never take out a real estate loan without this clause.
I cannot stress this enough. This is the magic combination of personal behavior that will get you debt free sooner than you can imagine. Learn to become patient and sacrifice often. It won't happen any other way.
Excellent advice! I’m finishing up my divorce and due to my general frugality, work ethic and good credit rating, I’m still able to keep my farm, I have a lawyer who is doing a SUPERB job for me on the cheap (I’ve been doing a lot of the legwork and document searches so she doesn’t have to charge me for them) and when I’m a ‘Free Agent’ again at the end of this month, it will be Full Speed Ahead to get myself where I SHOULD be at 50...debt free with GOBS of money in the bank and under my mattress.
(That last part is covered; I don’t mind a lumpy mattress, do you? LOL!)
Thanks Goodness I found Dave YEARS ago; I’ve been able to stem the tide of debt that COULD have consumed me due to my idiot ex’s Stupid Life Choices!
P.S. He’s filing bankruptcy the minute the ink is dry on the divorce papers. Wish I could feel bad about that, but somehow I don’t... *SMIRK*
Crud. I guess I DON’T have a ‘Mission Statement.’
What I was thinking of is a book I worked through years ago called ‘The Path’ by Laurie Beth Jones. I highly recommend it.
Anyhow, the four things I should be building my life around, based upon what I love and where my talents lie are:
Gardening
Writing
Teaching
Creating
Now does that sound like me? LOL! Yeah, I think my life is right where it should be! :)
Thanks for the reminder for me to look through my old notebooks. I’m RE-inspired! *SMOOCH* :)
P.S. This is what I want my farm to be in the next decade:
http://www.summerspastfarms.com/
If I continue to worship at The Alter of Dave and keep my financial house in order, I just MAY be able to pull it off!
Congratulations! I hope that your grass is greener than ever! You are inspiring me to keep up the hard work and get there myself.
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