Book Review: "The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life"

I bought Laurie Beth Jones' The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life about 10 years ago when I found myself feeling stagnant both at work and in my life. The idea of being able to articulate my mission in life – and to do it fairly quickly (meaning hours or maybe days, rather than months or years) – appealed to me.

Why does crafting a mission statement for your own life help with that stagnant feeling? In essence, it serves the same role for your life as a mission statement does for a business. As Jones says in the Intro, “ a personal mission statement acts as both a harness and a sword – harnessing you to what is true about your life, and cutting away all that is false.” With your mission in mind, decisions as to your priorities are made easier with the question “Is this activity or task furthering my mission?” If not, then why are you pursuing it?

The first half of the book is devoted to finding your mission and crafting your personal mission statement. The second half of the book is devoted to 8 case studies – based on Biblical stories – with respect to fulfilling your mission and your action steps for success. (I’ve merely skimmed this part of the book.) Jones covers 11 myths about missions (e.g. “My job is my mission.” No, it is not – because a mission will encompass any single job. She provides some introspective exercises for you to get thinking about your talents, interests and qualities that make you different from everyone else. Then her mission building exercise is laid out in 3 basic steps:

The What: come up with 3 actions (verbs) that are meaningful to you. (A long list of verbs is provided in the book, but you need not use those.)

Your Core Value(s)/Purpose/Cause: a word or phrase – like family, service, freedom

Whom are you helping (because, as Jones states, a mission implies service)? – e.g. animal welfare, small business, married couples

An example is my own mission:

Actions: to Perceive and Ignite
What? The Potential of..
Whom? Those around me

[Another way to express your mission is to flip it around: Who am I helping and how? I help those around me by perceiving and igniting their potential.]

All in all, this book is short and sweet, with succint examples, and strong tie-ins to Biblical quotes and stories. Recommended for those readers who believe their lives have a purpose, even if they aren’t sure what that purpose is.