How to Create a Family Mission Statement and Achievement Plan

Ever feel like you are entirely adrift in life? Ever hope for something that always seems out-of-reach? Ever strive, dream, yearn, or ache for something, anything truly good to happen? If you have, you're truly not alone. So many people and families are constantly looking at the horizon, waiting for that proverbial ship to make its appearance.

There is a way to get from where you are to where you want to be. It is what good businesses have been using for years. I am talking about a mission statement and a business plan.

Here are some steps to create your family mission and achievement plan.

1) Create your mission/vision statement. What we're talking about here is your dream. Not the "I want to make $100,000 this year" dream. We are talking about your "big dream," your "core dream," that dream that is the reason you do everything you do. That's your mission, that's your vision. It might be to "provide my family with a high standard of living by..." or it could be to "raise happy, healthy, well-rounded children with integrity, morals, and values congruent with..."

Make your mission statement short, not more than three sentences, to the point, and leave out the flowery buzz-words. You need to be able to remember it. It needs to be meaningful to you on a subconscious level. You gotta get it, and it's gotta get you.

2) Create objectives that move you toward your vision. Chances are, you will think of a lot of objectives. Keep it simple. Focus on your top four or five. You need to keep things bite-sized. When you achieve an objective, you can always add a new one. The key is to make sure your objectives are moving you toward your vision. If it doesn't, you need to revisit either the objective or the vision.

3) Create expectations. Create goals that lead you toward your objectives. In fact, forget that... Create EXPECTATIONS that lead you toward your objectives. What you are trying to do here is to dial your objectives down to DAILY ACTIVITIES that you need to achieve in order to reach your vision.

Remember the old proverb about the journey of a thousand miles starting with a single step? You can get anywhere you want to go, if you START heading that direction and KEEP heading that direction, everyday.

4) Now Implement Your Plan. What you have so far, is a bunch words on paper. A good first step, but now comes the hard part, getting busy!

You have identified daily activities for each of your objectives, now you need to decide which of those activities you are going to start implementing, starting today. Pick five or ten and make a to-do list that you commit to accomplishing on an on-going basis.

5) Accountability. The next step, assuming of course you are serious about achieving your vision, is to find someone you trust who will hold you accountable. Let them know, everyday, what you achieved and what you didn't. This step is necessary because you are trying to establish new habits, namely the habit of reviewing and accomplishing the items on your to-do list on a daily basis.

Finally, make sure your family is on-board with your vision and has helped to create your objectives. You might be amazed at the insight they will provide in this process. Don't make excuses. When you get off-track, re-evaluate where you are and map a new course to get you to your vision. You can do it!