Mission Coach Newsletter July 2005 (Vol. 7)

Welcome to the July Mission Coach monthly newsletter.  This month’s article is Part 1 of creating a Mission Sheet, on this sheet will be your Mission Statement and other writings (there could be pictures and drawings too) that are meaningful to you.  In Part 1 we focus on creating your Mission Statement. 

The desire to write a book seems to be a common theme among people rediscovering and living their Mission.  This month’s Tool Review takes a look at The Writer’s Journey from Inspiration to Publication by Julia McCutchen.  To find out how this book can help you get your manuscript accepted by a publisher please read the review.

Are you ready to put your life on the line?  Good! Let’s go ..

This Month's Article
Putting your life on the (written) line!
Creating A Mission Sheet

Outcomes for this Article 

• To explore the benefits of creating a Mission Sheet
  
• To demystify the process of creating a Mission Statement
  
• To present some guidelines and suggestions for creating your personal Mission Statement

What are the Benefits of Creating a Mission Sheet?

• It is a tool you can use to connect to what is truly important to you every day.  This will help you stay focused on the "big rocks" and be less distracted by the pebbles in life [1].
  
  
• It becomes a symbol or anchor for what is important to you, it has a significance far greater than the words and pictures on it.
  
• It fits comfortably into your pocket or bag so you can keep it with you.
  
• Reading your Mission Sheet and Mission Statement each day will make a difference to the decisions you make because you will be thinking through the filter of your Mission Statement and those things that support it.

For the purpose of this article (and everything else related to Mission Coach) the word "Mission" is used to describe our Purpose in Life; our reason for being here in this place at this time [2].

Guidelines for Creating Your Personal Mission Statement

1. There are no rules only guidelines and suggestions for creating your Mission Statement, use the ideas that serve you best.  Don’t get too hung up on the dos and don’ts (including those presented here), the important thing is for you to create your own Mission Statement and for you to know you cannot do it wrong!
   
   
2. Your Mission Statement should be about you!  While this may sound obvious it is a common trap that many of us fall into.  We think it should be about helping others (which ultimately it will be) but the way we help others is to empower ourselves.  In your Mission Statement put you first and keep you first.
   
   
3. You are unique, your Mission is unique, your Mission Statement is unique, the only person it needs to inspire is you.  You don’t have to share it so don’t worry about writing and presenting it in a way that someone else understands and appreciates it.  Your Mission Statement is most likely to be in the form of words but it could be anything that for you symbolises your Mission.
   
   
4. Your Mission Statement is a description, symbol or metaphor for a way of you Being, it should not be a goal!  A goal is something you Do by a certain date - your Mission is something you are Being forever.
   Your Mission Statement should describe Who you are Being.  You may have specific goals for what you plan to achieve, these goals will change as you achieve them but your Mission Statement will stay (more or less) the same.  Having said all that please see point 5!
   
   
5. Be prepared for your Mission Statement to change especially in the early stages.  Be prepared for a shift in your perception as you rediscover more about yourself and your Life’s Purpose.  If you try to make your Mission Statement permanent (i.e. by laminating the paper!) you will have an ego investment in keeping it the same instead of allowing it to unfold and change.  The change could be as small as adding or removing a word, even changing the punctuation can make a difference.  Change it and try it, if you decide you don’t like it change it back! [3]. 
   
   
6. “Your playing small does not serve the world” [4].  Don’t play small with your Mission play BIG.  If you find yourself saying “that’s big-headed, I shouldn’t be saying that!” when you read your Mission Statement your ego is clouding your view of the "Grandest Vision ever you held about Who You Really Are” [5].  Your Mission is BIG, exciting and scary, if it wasn’t it would not be your Mission [6].  See also point 5 in the Creating Your Own Mission Statement section below.
   
   
7. Don’t allow a desire for perfection to get in the way of experimentation, be prepared to go with whatever you have got right now – you cannot get it wrong!  Always regard your Mission Statement (and your Mission) as being work in progress.

A Mission Statement Example
Here is an example of a work in progress Mission Statement that follows the guidelines above:

“I am a power-full Agent of Change, an Artist of the Soul to myself and those of us who are here to enrich our quality of life, make manifest our Life’s Purpose and experience the "Grandest Vision of Who We Really Are.”

Creating Your Own Personal Mission Statement
Creating your own Mission Statement can be the most liberating, exciting and scary process.  If you would like a starting point, a way of getting your creative juices flowing try the following:

1. Imagine a person you love or admire describing you and how you live your Life’s Purpose, even if you don’t know exactly what your Life’s Purpose is yet pretend you do. Write down what they are saying about you.
   
   
2. Go through what has been written about you changing the third person into the first person i.e. “she is an inspiration” becomes “I am an inspiration”.  If what has been written is in the past tense put it into the first person present tense i.e. “he was” or “he will be” becomes “I am”.
   
   
3. Take the sentences that most powerfully express the person you really are and put them together, they may not yet make sense as a complete Mission Statement but just reading the words should send a shiver down your spine!
   
   
4. Rearrange the sentences and words so the statement flows, it does not need to be grammatically correct nor does it need to make sense to anyone but you.
   
   
5. Pump up the volume!  Read through the words, ensure they express how big you really are not how small, your Mission Statement is not the place to be humble!  By “playing big” [4] (not big headed but big hearted) we serve ourselves and serve the world.  See also point 6 in the Guidelines for Creating Your Mission Statement above.
   
   
6. Test your Mission Statement, if reading it does not excite and scare you at the same time you are either playing small (your ego has been censoring your words) or something is missing – keep experimenting!

Next Month
Next month we will put your Mission Statement into a Mission Sheet along with other writings, pictures, poems and whatever helps you to engage with your Mission Statement.

Between now and next month please ..
Actively look for writing that inspires you.  Have you read something in a book, seen a quotation, heard something from a friend, seen something in a movie?  What about symbols? (I was quite turned on by Hawaiian Huna symbols at one time!)  Make a collection of inspirational writings, drawings, symbols etc – next month we will be using them.

Footnotes for this Article

[1]  Steven Covey in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People talks about putting the big rocks into a jar first and allowing smaller rocks, gravel then sand to fill in the gaps as a metaphor for prioritising our time and attention on the important things in life.  See also the link to the What’s Urgent and What’s Important in Your Life? section on the Mission Coaching page on the Mission Coach web site, the link is at the bottom of this newsletter.
[2]  See the Mission Coach newsletter archives for the 4 part article 9 Ways to Rediscover Your Life’s Purpose, the link is at the bottom of this newsletter.
[3]  If you are using a word processor to create your Mission Sheet keep previous versions i.e. mission-sheet-001.doc, the advantages of doing this are a) you are able to monitor your progress and b) if you change something and don’t like it you still have the original version.
[4]  “Your playing small does not serve the world” comes from Marianne Williamson’s Deepest Fear passage in her book A Return to Love, more about this passage next month.
[5]  “Grandest Vision ever you held about Who You Really Are” is a quote from Conversation with God.
[6]  See the downloadable PDF document An Introduction to Living Your Life’s Purpose on the Mission Coach web site, the link is at the bottom of this newsletter

This Month's Tool Review

This month we review the book The Writer’s Journey from Inspiration to Publication by Julia McCutchen, Published by FireFly Media, ISBN 0-9548848-0-9, 178 pages, price on Amazon UK £10.00 (see the links at the bottom of this newsletter).  This book is not yet available from Amazon.com

I bought this book at a Writer’s Journey seminar conducted by the author.  This is a self-published book, FireFly Media being Julia’s own company, she has more than 20 years experience in publishing and was Managing Director of Element Publishing – she knows her stuff!

The book is in 3 parts From Inspiration .. , .. To Publication and the Appendix, each chapter ends with some exercises.  Although this book is aimed at those people wishing to publish non-fiction most of what it contains also applies to publishing fiction.

The From Inspiration section contains 3 chapters ..
Chapter 1 – Getting Started
The sub-headings Facing the Fear,  The Confidence Spiral and Know Yourself give you a good idea of the author’s approach to getting started on the journey.  She stresses the importance of being open to multiple sources of inspiration and developing the practice of writing regularly.  The chapter closes with the description of 6 qualities needed to become a successful writer.

Chapter 2 – Defining the Essence of Your Message
“Finding your way into the central core of what you are going to write about is a journey akin to that of seeking the heart of a labyrinth”.  The author suggests a number of ways this can be achieved including contemplation, journaling and simply “writing your way to the centre”.  She highlights common mistakes and suggests the reader bears in mind the audience they are writing for.  At the end of this chapter she gives a publisher’s eye view of the world and how your manuscript competes for the time and attention of the publisher or agent.

Chapter 3 – Market Awareness
“Presenting your ideas in an educated way that shows awareness of your potential readership will undoubtedly enhance your credibility and your chances of success with prospective publishers”.  Sub-headings in this chapter include Time Frames and Timing, Into the Market Place and Conduct Your Research it is here she suggests various sources of information for your market research including; the internet, bookshops, conferences and seminars.

Section 2 .. To Publication
Chapter 4 – Introducing the World of Publishing
This is where the author gives us the kind of insight into the world of publishing that only someone who has been directly involved in the industry can do.  She outlines the people involved and their role in the editing, production and marketing of your book.  What are publishers looking for? and How publishing decisions are made are sub-headings in this chapter.  She examines the advantages and disadvantages of working with large and small publishing houses.  This chapter contains some helpful diagrams and flow charts.

Chapter 5 – Do you need a Literary Agent?
In this chapter the author weighs up the pros and cons of having an agent.  She examines the role of the agent, their relationship to you and the publisher and what they actually do, for example; help you prepare your proposal, approaching publishers and negotiating contracts.  Finding and approaching agents are also topics in this chapter.
 
Chapter 6 – How to write a good proposal
A good proposal is the door opener to a publisher or agent.  Attracting attention and Defining the essence of your message are two of the things a good proposal will do.  The author examines the structure of the proposal, what each page contains and how it should be presented bearing in mind you only have a few minutes to impress the person reading it.

Chapter 7 – The all important approach
Having created a great proposal for your book you now need to present it to a publisher.  The section How to find the right publisher contains a number of ideas and resources that could help.  These include; personal recommendations, bookshops and the internet.  Having found one you will need to communicate your passion for your book in a concise way to a number of people including the editor and sales people.  Under the sub-heading Making your approach she looks at the initial methods of approaching a publisher, these include using the phone, by post and by email. Following up and possible responses looks at the dreaded “rejection letter” and how to respond to it, other possible responses are a request for more information or an invitation to meet the publisher.

Chapter 8 – From contract to bound copies and beyond
This is the final chapter in the book and opens with a look at the key components of the publishing contract including the “advance”, territorial rights and royalties.  At this stage your manuscript may still be incomplete under the sub-headings Creating a writing schedule and Understanding the difference between writing and editing the author looks at effective ways of delivering the manuscript on time.  This chapter contains an interesting diagram showing a timeline of activities from the delivery of the final manuscript to the production of the book.  Once again she looks at the author’s role in promoting their own book.

Conclusion
I like this book, I found it informative and concise.  Having recently attended a writer’s conference where a number of Literary Agents were speaking I can now see the value of writing a good proposal, a significant part of this book is dedicated to doing this.  It is extremely helpful to know the realities of publishing and to know we only have a few minutes to grab the attention of the person reading the proposal.

As a new author serious about getting your book published or as an author who has received a number of rejections; do yourself a favour, get this book and follow the suggestions Julia McCutchen makes.

Next Month
Next month there will be a change from reviewing books, we will be taking a look at one of my favourite (and most used!) pieces of software MindManager X5 Pro, this is “The Tool” to create Mind Maps.

Links For This Edition of the Mission Coach Newsletter

To read What’s Urgent and What’s Important in Your Life?
click here:
http://www.mission-coach.co.uk/pages/mission_coaching.asp#urgent

To download the PDF Introduction to Living Your Life’s Purpose
click here:
www.mission-coach.co.uk this is the Mission Coach home page, click on the Special Report link on the bottom right of the page, when the page comes up click on the link to download the document.

To buy The Writer’s Journey by Julia McCutchen from Amazon UK click here:
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0954884809/selfleadershi-21
Please note this book is not available from amazon.com

To contact me Paul Beeston
mailto:paul@mission-coach.co.uk
or call +44 (0)1494 638827 (Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom)