🧠 Becoming mission-oriented and how to measure our lives

Your mission, should you choose to accept it…

Too often, we go about our lives by every whim and fancy or opportunity that comes our way.

But is that the path to the fulfillment and impact most of us want?

The answer is probably obvious… no.

Rather, if we can identify a meaningful mission and live our lives in alignment with defined values, we’ll create something special.

In today’s newsletter:

• How defining a mission can help you create a great career

• The measure of a life well-lived

• Hot Jobs

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CAREER TIPS

Why and How Engineers Can Define and Live a Meaningful Life and Career Mission

"Make your life a mission - not an intermission." ~ Arnold H. Glasgow

What is your personal mission in life? Do you know? Do you care? Perhaps you've never even thought about this, or the idea of defining it is scary or daunting.

Perhaps you have tried to write a mission statement in the past, but now that you think about it, you have yet to learn what you wrote and are certainly not using it as a guiding force in your life.

Or maybe you are one of the few who has defined and accepted your personal mission in life and is actively working to fulfill that mission.

Wherever you are on the journey, let's explore why defining your mission is important and how it can be a force for good in your life and the lives of the many you interact with and impact.

Why You Should Define Your Mission

Engineers love solving problems. It's one of the most frequent things I hear from them. Identifying an issue and moving through the problem-solving process to create and implement a solution is thrilling.

Defining a mission for your life is a problem to be solved—the problem of defining your purpose. It is perhaps the most important problem you will ever solve.

Think of yourself as the hero in your own story. Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, and Harry Potter all had purposes and missions beyond themselves. It drove them beyond what they thought was possible and truly changed them.

Your mission should give you a drive to accomplish things bigger than yourself. It should help you define who you are trying to become.

Once you have it defined, you can live your life accordingly!

How To Define Your Mission

"Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill" ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Fast forward to a day when all your loved ones and closest associates gather together. Your family, spouse/partner, children, best friends, people from your faith community, and friends from your professional life are all there.

Someone who knows you best in each area of your life - personal, professional, and community - speaks to the entire group about your life, contributions, impact, and what they learned from you.

You are witnessing your funeral service (perhaps a bit morbid, but go with me here).

What would you like these people to say? At the end of your life, how do you want the world (and perhaps most importantly, the people in it who are close to you) to be different? How do you want to be remembered?

The answers to these questions essentially form your mission. It's an opportunity to define what is most important to you and how you intend to live your life.

There is no perfect template or tool for creating a mission statement, although you can try out the Franklin Covey tool if you want one.

But it must be impactful to YOU, including perhaps a summary or one-sentence line that is easily remembered and that truly feels both authentic and ambitious.

When you write a mission statement, you don't just put down the first thing that comes to mind and leave it at that. It will take you significant time and require careful reflection about yourself and what matters most to you.

You should revise and refine it until it feels right. Adapt it as needed, but always be sure it's grounded in honest principles and authentic ambitions.

Note: included in your mission statement should be your core values.

How to Use Your Mission

"You are here for a special mission. There is a purpose of your life. Find that purpose of your life, work on it and live your life happily." ~ Raaz Ojha

If you create a mission statement and never look at it again, you're missing the point. A mission statement is meant to be used.

Once you have created it, go back to it often and let it serve as a reminder of who you are and your purpose. Spend time reflecting on it. Journal about how your recent actions align with your stated mission. Identify adjustments you can make to increase that alignment.

Place your mission statement somewhere you will see it and be reminded of it. I paste it next to my desk in my office. Some people keep a pocket version in their wallet. Some keep it on their bathroom mirrors. Whatever works for you.

But put it to use.

Define Your Mission

You've read about mission statements; now it's time to create one. I wouldn't expect you to be able to complete it today. But get started today.

Find a template or a tool to help you if that's what you need. Include your core values, a brief statement you want to live by, and how you intend to live. You can include concretely defined goals or not. You may want to include a list of things you want to start and stop doing.

So start today, and schedule time in the following days and weeks to refine it.

Make this something important to you, and it will become a guiding influence in your life.

 HOT JOBS OF THE WEEK

> Senior Network & Cloud Engineer-Nexon America: (Apply)

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INTERESTING ENGINEERING SHOP

Nikola Tesla, born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Croatia (then part of the Austrian Empire), was a brilliant and enigmatic inventor, engineer, and futurist. He immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and quickly gained recognition for his innovative work in electrical engineering. Tesla's contributions include the development of alternating current (AC) electrical systems, numerous inventions related to electricity and magnetism, and pioneering work in wireless communication. Despite his incredible accomplishments, he faced financial challenges and spent his later years in relative obscurity, but his legacy as one of history's greatest inventors endures, with his name associated with countless technological advancements and the Tesla electric car company bearing his name in the 21st century.

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📚 BOOK RECOMMENDATION

How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon

This is one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read. I probably ought to read it at least once per year. I HIGHLY recommend it.

How do you lead a fulfilling life?

That profound question animates this book of inspiration and insight from world-class business strategist and bestselling author of “The Innovators Dilemma,” Clayton Christensen.

After beating a heart attack, advanced-stage cancer and a stroke in three successive years, the world-renowned innovation expert Clayton M. Christensen delivered a short but powerful speech to the Harvard Business School graduating class.

He presented a set of personal guidelines that have helped him find meaning and happiness in his life, a challenge even the brightest and most motivated of students find daunting.

That speech subsequently became a hugely popular article in the Harvard Business Review and is now a groundbreaking book, putting forth a series of questions and models for success that have long been applied in the world of business, but also can be used to find cogent answers to pressing life questions:

• How can I be sure that I'll find satisfaction in my career?

• How can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse, my family and my close friends become enduring sources of happiness?

• How can I avoid compromising my integrity (and stay out of jail)?

Take the time to read this - you’ll be glad you did!