Identifying and Living My Life's MissionI’ve been on a search for meaning most of my life. I quit school when I was 16, got married at 19 and opened a t-shirt and sportswear printing business with my father and brother. Since that time I’ve been a bindery worker, grocery clerk, salesman, interactive marketing specialist, product manager, channel distribution manager, professional speaker, writer, teacher, consultant and speaker’s agent. In almost every endeavor I’ve found a way to get involved in sales and marketing. I’ve sold and marketed groceries, life and health insurance, custom printed sportswear and gift items, live musical entertainment, graphic design, corporate advertising, photography, radio airtime on a retail, regional and national basis, interactive telephone promotions, prepaid phone cards, internet access, website design and development, high speed digital printing systems, professional speakers and magazine advertising. I’ve had more jobs and careers than my father and grandfather combined! Did I mention I moved my family for work-related reasons 24 times in 32 years? But, one simple event changed my life.
My son and his wife had two daughters and we became grand parents. Those two children “own” my wife and I and we just had to live as close to them as possible. That’s why we now live in a small town. Two activities have fascinated me my whole life. One is public speaking, an activity still considered by most people as their greatest fear. The other is marketing, a skill I find lacking in the vast majority of businesses I work with today. Marketing fascinates me. It is a topic both wide and deep. I suppose you might never know it all, but then again as a small town, small business marketer, you don’t need to. I chose to focus on small town, small business owners because I've experienced first hand, through my day-to-day dealings with many business owners, the frustration of trying to operate a successful small business without a practical knowledge of marketing. In my mind mind, it is the one critical piece of the business puzzle missing for most small town, small business owners. In its most basic form marketing is gaining attention from potential customers, separating them from the herd, satisfying their specific needs and wants then caring for them forever. Treated with care and love, they will richly reward you for the rest of your business life. My love for public speaking began in public school. For most of the boys in my 6th grade woodworking class, the outcome of their efforts was a gift for their mothers. Not so for me. While others used the lathe to turn out a lamp, my efforts resulted in a speaker’s lectern. I’d stand before the roughly handcrafted piece and imagine myself speaking to audiences hanging on my every word. Nowadays I get to stand behind many a lectern speaking, not to imaginary audiences, but to real people who have come to be taught, inspired, motivated and entertained. I believe that every human being has a purpose they are meant to discover and fulfill. All too often people are driven, not by their discovered purpose, but by the imposed purpose of others, leading to lives of disappointment and dissatisfaction. As a speaker, I deliver an encouraging message that rings true for all that hear it. It is a timely reminder that we are great just as we are. The profound but simple truth is - at this particular moment in time, by virtue of the fact that we draw breath and possess a beating heart - we have inestimable personal value. However, molded in part by a society constantly searching outward for validation and acceptance, we neglect to look inside ourselves to recognize what constitutes true value. Identifying our purpose is only an initial step on the path to self-discovery. Next, we need to realize how we can maximize our personal value by doing what we are. This is an essential growth process, which I refer to as “Missioneering”. Many of us have participated in developing mission statements for our employers without taking the time or effort to write our own personal mission statements. This is an essential exercise in order for us to proceed to the next logical step – moving continuously forward through our lifetime on the path revealed to us through the discovery of our personal mission statement – Missioneering. By means of personal stories gathered throughout my life, experiences shared by others, targeted research, and interactive audience participation delivered with a great sense of humour, I convey a refreshing life-affirming message that audiences thirst to hear and apply in their personal and corporate lives.
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It’s not that I don’t understand my life’s purpose or what the future holds in store for humankind. I’m just that for me, finding my place in this world has always been a challenge.
