My Mission Statement

It seems as though every successful business has a mission statement. It might be kind of silly, but if we wanted to be successful wouldn't a mission statement help us through the times we think we can't do it. Well, think about it: there are some very successful businesses out there who have superb mission statements, and why can't we sound superb too? Here are a few awesome ones...

(All the fallowing mission statements are provided by www.missionstatements.com.)
             
1. Ford Motor Company - "We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world."

2. Microsoft - "At Microsoft, we work to help people and business throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible."

3. NIKE Inc - " To Bring Inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. "

And many, many others, but these are more of my personal favorites. The ones that were simple, short, yet sent a powerful message about what they were all about and what their company's goal is.

When I was in early morning seminary, my teacher gave us a lesson on what our mission statements should be. It truly is a deep thing to think about. You start to think, "What is my purpose in life?" Or maybe, "How could I possibly change the world?" To start, we all have a purpose. No matter how great or small, we are all influential. You may be a working mother or father trying to get by, but think about how all your hard work is going to pay off and how much others will recognize your unstoppable determination.

You may be a student, like me, in school who has trouble with either grades, students, etc. Grades are degrading. I'm serious! If you have an A, you are praised by fellow students and their teachers. But if you were like me and don't make the honor roll every year, you or others will make you feel like you are incompetent or not smart because you are not that shining gold student who's perfect in every way. By that point (when I was still in public school) I was feeling pretty crummy about myself, and felt that no one payed attention to me because of my low grades and shyness. Which was true, but I'll save you the sob story. Anyway, I felt that no one really cared. In public school, if you don't fit the standard, you are rejected. At least, that was my case. But when I decided to be homeschooled my freshman year of high school, I started realizing that public school was stressing me out so much that I wasn't paying attention to my emotional or social growth, only my academic. Later that year, I had discovered a passion for baking pastries and other treats, sewing, crocheting, and other crafts which I still do to this day.

Now all of these things were fun for a while until I didn't have enough money for the yarn I wanted and I had gained a jean size from eating too many pecan bars. But I still loved doing them whenever I could, so I decided to give a plate to the boy I liked from my church. He was genuinely surprised, and from that day on It became a new high for me. About once or twice a month I would go on "Pecan Bar Runs," and it was so amazing to see everyone's smiling faces. We soon started having sign classes for a deaf boy in our ward, so I baked treats every Friday for when the classes were over. I started saving up some money from the weekly paper route I did (passed down to me from my brothers) and bought some yarn. I eventually ended up with a bunch of colors, and I knew I could never use these all on myself. So, I started making animal hats for the young women in my ward. They soon figured out how time consuming they were, so I have been taking a break from them. It was always so amazing to watch them open their gift and find a soft animal hat that was beyond adorable.

Finally, it hit me. After all the things that I have done in life, the things that I remember most are times when I made others feel happy. I now know what my mission statement is:

"To spread as many smiles as possible."

Its simple, it says it, and it reflects everything I have done. For those who don't like to read and scrolled down to the bottom, let me say real quick that the quicker you find our own personal mission statements, the happier you will be. There is a quote I love about happiness that I had just recently wrote in my quote book:

"There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something."  -Henry Ford

I guess this quote doesn't really relate entirely, but I sure was happier when I had discovered how to be happy while influencing others around me to be better as well. You may not know it, but people are watching you, so you have to be an example. (I also learned that in seminary.) Be your best, and people will give you their best back. When you recognize your full potential and grow confident in your abilities, you will influence others more that you realize...