Written by: Jennifer Flynn, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It is a new year. It is important to come into each year having evaluated what we are offering and how we are showing up.
On numerous occasions lately I have taught about the importance of mission and vision. It's so easy to keep what we do and why we do it and the results of doing it inside our head. We think because we know everyone else must too. We think that we are living it so of course people can see it. We think because we have marketing messages people must feel it. We think because we are making money… it must be clear. Yet, there are not many who can produce it in writing or with any succinct articulation.
In business and in life it is important to know our priorities, what we value, the difference we want to make and the actions required to deliver on it. I believe more than ‘knowing it’, it helps to have it in writing so we can see it and BE it.
Often people combine Mission, Vision and Values statements.
A Mission Statement defines the company's business, its objectives and its approach to reach those objectives. A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of the company. Elements of Mission and Vision Statements are often combined to provide a statement of the company's purposes, goals and values.
I tend to be a combiner, but I have a separate expression for things I value in the form of a manifesto of sorts. I am not claiming to be perfect, but here is an example for you:
TBM Mission
The Balance Maven® is a business and lifestyle company that offers intuitive and strategic guidance to spiritually aligned business owners who have woken up to their calling and purpose and seek to create a business that stokes their passion and operates as a vehicle for the impact they want to create and a life they love to live.
Through intuitive mentorship and inspired strategy we assist them in being fully expressed in the truth of their purpose. We serve seekers and the truth tellers in building and scaling service based businesses that provide a lucrative container for the voice of their soul.
Just as importantly is to know what you stand for and the driving truths of your world. For this, additionally I have a ‘manifesto.’
What exactly is a manifesto you may ask?
According to Dictionary.com:
Manifesto definition, a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization.
Good qualities of a manifesto are simple, concise and straightforward language.
Knowing what you value allows you to have a code by which you do life and business.
The Maven Manifesto is a compilation of 9 precepts or ‘core messages/beliefs’ I strive to live and operate my business by:
Maven Manifesto:
i. Your business is a container for your soul. It is an expression of you. If it is not fully expressed you may not feel you are either and vice versa
ii. Integrity before loyalty. Do the right thing, always and in all ways.
iii. An inconvenient truth is always better communicated than a lie
iv. Loving but not lenient. I take a fierce stand for everyone I work with and their achievement of their greatest potential and hold that space for them even if they can’t yet see it or hold it for themselves. This also translates to my personal life in the form of loving but not lenient boundaries.
v. High standards
vi. Everything is energy. You can be its master or it can be yours
vii. You get the be the example or be the warning
viii. We live in the results of our actions...there are no exceptions
ix. You are always the best investment you can make
My manifesto in many ways is an extension of my mission by being the truth I use to operate by. It's more than just about my mission in business, but also who I am and how I show up in the world.
I think congruence is important. I take a great deal of pride in being a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of person. I like for people to feel consistency from me in who I am inside or outside of professional life. I find it very jarring to encounter people in one setting only to find out they are completely different in another and none of the same values or beliefs apply. It’s difficult not to feel it's disingenuous or inauthentic.
I believe it's important to be who we say we are. It's easy to think we know this, but if you really truly want to live it, get it out of your head, look at it, review it , feel it and use it as a compass. Whether you do it in the form of a Mission, Vision or a Manifesto, check in with it and ask yourself if you are living it. Let it be your scorecard. Measure yourself against it. Make sure that every goal or action is aligned with it.
Now is an important time of year to explore this. You have the whole year to benefit.
Want help? You can learn more at www.thebalancemaven.com
Jennifer Flynn, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jennifer Flynn is on a mission is to support service based entrepreneurs in creating a container for their soul's work in the form of a business that serves as a vehicle for a life the love to live. As the President and Founder of The Balance Maven®, she helps clients overcome the imbalances operating in their lives and tips the scales in their favor. Through her uniquely balanced approach that combines an omnipresent intuitive gift with experience-informed strategies, those who work with her realize their soul-inspired end goals and the exact steps to get there.
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