What’s Your Why?

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, has a personal mission statement and it is “to have fun in [my] journey through life and learn from [my] mistakes.” This is what drives him. What drives us? The ancient prophet Isaiah has some suggestions.

For most of us, our lives with a personal mission statement (PMS) began very early.

We called it dreaming, or perhaps daydreaming. “Someday, when I grow up, I want to be a truck driver.” Or firefighter, police officer or astronaut.

Kids still dream. According to one survey, children today aspire to be dancers, musicians, teachers, actors, scientists, athletes, detectives, writers, pilots, veterinarians, lawyers, doctors — and, like kids of previous generations, police officers, fire fighters and astronauts.

While children dream of fighting fires or flying to the moon, businesses, corporations and even the military have been cranking out mission statements for years to help them achieve their goals. Here are some examples from the corporate world:

• Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. —Microsoft.
• The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with...