Mission = Passion: The Way Forward

Spurred by one of the central tenets of The Minimalists, "...finding and living your passion...", a little crystal of continuity and truth became clear to me today.  I'd like to share it.

The idea of passion -- not the steamy bedroom type, but rather, that which burns inside of each of us to live more fully, more completely, more earnestly -- has been central to my life journey since I was a young man.  It would be fair to say that I've searched to identify and nurture that passion all of my adult life.  

But it's been hit and miss, at best.  

However, when I connect the idea of "mission" to "passion", it becomes more evident:  how to find it, how to build it, grow it, LIVE it.  I've been close sometimes, have had times of great synchronicity, but have also had many more times of feeling I was sneaking around outside, but not IN, not doing what I felt I should be doing.

In business school I heard a lot about mission statement as a cornerstone of any start-up.  Define what you want your venture to be:  it will inform both within the organization and outside as well.   Good place to begin, for sure.  And not only for businesses is this a fine first step, but also for individuals, and couples too.

When my wife and I got married a few years back (and before our first child was born), we decided to draft a family mission statement, to define what was important to us, and to be used as a guide for our children, when they arrived.  We have the mission statement on our mantle, I have it on my lap top screen saver, and on my cubicle wall at work.  I read it daily, think about it, ponder what it really means.  

It goes like this:

"We are a family who lives simply, encourages each other to grow mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, and our priority is to maintain connection to ourselves, each other, God, and our community."

Today it hit me:  that mission statement is really born from my wife and my collective passion for what matters most in our lives.  It talks about our family, our faith, our friends, our desire to always be growing and trying to get better.   It DEFINES our passion.  And once defined, any goal is easier to work toward, to stay focused on, to LIVE.

So whatever your calling, whatever you feel stirs you inside, truly makes you happy, THAT is worth putting in words, in a couple of simple phrases, to define and make known to the world what you're about.   As an old Irish musician once said, "I believe in beginnings; the rest is inevitable."  So take the first step, the rest will follow.