About a month ago I participated in a training course called 7 Habits for Highly Effective People. The training is based on the popular book by the late Stephen Covey. The purpose of the training was to gain some tools and habits to become a more effective supervisor and manager, but in the end I gained so much more. I discovered part of my mission.

During day 1 of the training we were asked to work on a Mission Statement. To help facilitate that process we went through an exercise where we wrote out what we wanted our life to look like in five years, and we imagined what we wanted to be doing at that point in life. During the writing and reflection time some of my deep heartfelt passions were spelled out on paper, and it became clear that I currently was not fulfilling any of those passions or dreams. The key items that came off the page during this exercise were things that I truly enjoy doing:

- Being Outdoors
- Seeking Adventure
- Working with Youth
- Being a mentor

The following weekend after the training ended, I began a quest to find ways to live out these clear passions, and I came across Outdoor Outreach. Outdoor Outreach seeks to transform the lives of At-Risk Youth by connecting them with activities in the great outdoors. This organization incorporates the love that I have for the outdoors, as well as the desire I have to mentor youth. My first step was to get involved by volunteering, and my first volunteer day is this weekend. My second step was to become a part of what the organization is doing around my city, so on the right side of the page you’ll notice I am raising money for their Annual Reach the Peak adventure race. All money raised goes towards the educational programs, and trips that Outdoor Outreach puts on for these youth each year.

My encouragement for you is to take a moment and write out your Mission Statement. Do the exercise of writing down where you want to be in 5 years, and allow that to direct you towards your next steps. Not everyone gets to do what they love as their job, but everyone can find ways to spend time and energy doing what they love. In my case, I was looking for my job to fulfill all my passions and my life mission, but sometimes your job merely funds your life mission.

-Matt