Podcasts and Mission Statements

Frank Sinatra (by Phil Stern)

    Recently I listened to a great talk by apologist Ravi Zacharias called Faith Under Fire: Christian Ethics in the Workplace (Part 2 of 4).  I have always enjoyed the challenges that Ravi Zacharias puts forth.  (I listen to a number of podcasts regularly if you are interested in hearing some fun and challenging things in art and theology let me know and I will elaborate.) He makes the comment that "Anything that refreshes you, without distracting you from, diminishing, or destroying your final goal is a legitimate pleasure in your life. Which means ladies and gentlemen the first most important principle for you to set in your life and for me to set in my life  is what is the purpose of my existence. When we set that purpose everything else becomes defined."
Ravi goes on to talk about the Ritz Carlton Hotel owners mission statement and attributing the success of the company to it. Their mission statement was "Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen". The owner said it was drilled into the staff that they were ladies and gentlemen and anyone who came in the door was a lady or gentlemen.
      In his talk he makes a point that if you have worked for any company you most likely know their, and worked within their mission statement but have you ever taken the time to make a mission statement for yourself.  This simple point has really given me some clarity.  Often times we are reaching for things that maybe we shouldn't be. Or representing ourselves in ways that we actually don't want to. It made a lot of sense to me to have a standard to check my actions and goals against. So have started to pen a statement I have found it funny how many things that I thought I wanted in life that are absent from it and how many things that I feel a draw to that really don't line up with the direction I want to be heading in.  I have found this to be a interesting investigation and experience thus far.  Especially for artists and designers branding has increasing become a big deal. It is interesting to think of not only your professional life as a brand but also your personal life as one. What would your logo be? Your mission statement? What would you be recognized as?