actually stem from physiological sensations. Our bodies crave pleasure. We want to play and be happy. We perform best when we achieve a complete emotional release that enables us to perform on the stage of life with abandon.
HIGHER VALUES
The new service economy is based on entrepreneurs who spend most of their waking hours trying to figure out better ways to serve consumers. This application of human inventiveness is changing society for the better. Our culture is less focused on exploitation of people and more focused on serving them. Rather than trying to win at the expense of others, we are learning to create greater value for one another. The changes in business reflect a new maturity.
In this positive new environment, we strive for perfection. We expect exquisite service. Poor service still occurs, but now we can make a distinction when it works and when it doesn’t. Humanity is achieving a new standard of excellence.
These new standards lift us up. Higher values offer a defense against our own deterioration and mortality. They lend greater dignity to our existence. By discovering your own values, you gain perspective on what service or product you can provide. Digging beneath the mind chatter and getting down to what really matters in your world requires asking yourself some tough questions.
What matters for humanity? What contribution can you make with your life? How do you feel about dying? Do you have a specific fear regarding death? What do you resist about dying? Is there anything you would give up your life for? Addressing these questions is vital, because having something worth dying for means having something worth living for. What matters enough to you that you would commit your entire life to it? How can you organize a business around something that matters that much to you?
Use these questions to create new possibilities. If you had only a year to live, what would you do with your remaining months? How would you spend your time? What would take priority? What if you were given only a month to live? If you were certain you had only thirty days left, where would you direct your attention? How many days would you schedule for self-pity?
And what if you had only a day or one hour, what would take priority? How you answer these questions is the beginning of a lifelong search for determining your own values. Effective living requires an exploration of your relationship with your own mortality.
There are absolute values coded into your body type and cultural patterns. The more closely you conform to your ideal values, the more alive you will feel. Your perceived value to other people can be measured by accounting for the vitality you experience in your body and by the physical energy you generate in your employees and clients.
When you live according to your highest values, you achieve fearlessness. You may still feel moments of anxiety, but you stare them down. You experience a release from your mental arguments and conflicts. A larger perspective begins to soothe the savage within.
MISSION
According to Albert Schweitzer, those who find happiness are those who have a sufficient purpose. When you distill your values into a challenging purpose, your mission appears.
Before you can hit a target, you need a clear aim. Your mission is a life game that attracts like-minded people to participate in fulfilling your values. By combining your values into one coherent mission, you create a purpose that provides direction for your life. That mission brings together people who share the same values and gives them a way to help each other achieve what they all desire.
Your mission is your personal vision. It may be lofty and wonderful, or it may be simple and sweet. Some people want to change the world, while others may be more interested in earning a decent living or raising a family.
Vision means clarity. Your mission isn’t a mental image, but rather an ability to give your attention to events in the real, physical world. You become successful by seeing things as they are. To succeed, you can’t afford to harbor any illusions about your limitations. What one person can achieve, another can surpass. Viewing yourself as a small player won’t inspire others to join you on your mission.
Reach for great achievements. Make your mission a mighty one. Live your life as a series of amazing events. Throw parties. Schedule trips. Meet the people you admire. Become the person that other people admire. Organize people and events to serve your higher purpose. Goethe’s voice echoes through the ages, reminding us that boldness has genius in it.
Vision means looking to the road ahead. Remaining within the boundaries of your path allows you to more easily enjoy passion and pleasure. When you stray from your natural direction, your body signals you with fear and pain. Over time, pleasurable impulses provide frames of reference that focus your attention and keep you on track. Good sensations are linked to behaviors and procedures that accomplish your aspirations. Your senses provide the feedback that keeps you on course.
When you are focused on your mission, you won’t have much time for conflict. That kind of attentiveness is riveting. It makes you a better person. Your commitment inspires other people. You become so enlivened by living your values and fulfilling your purpose that people ignite their own careers by association with you. Your magnetism increases in proportion to the scope of your mission.
Your purpose sets the tone for your life; it focuses your allies on the same channel. A compelling mission creates attraction. It defines a game that aligns people and encourages them to tell others about your business.
When numerous individuals combine their visions into one shared mission, together they create a living system. When you start to understand yourself in terms of deeper connections, you find your place in the timeless flow of life. You achieve immortality by merging your intelligence into a purpose that continues beyond your life span.
In the world of worries, on the other hand, you drift, lost in time. You are a wretched mortal striving to acquire all you can before your miserable end. Recognizing your role instead in the larger family and community gives you a long range perspective. It provides a sense of meaning.
SEE OURSELVES AS OTHERS SEE US
How do other people view your business? What do your clients experience? You must know the answers to these questions in order to structure your business. When you achieve sensitivity to the needs of your customers, all other aspects of your business will fall into place.
People who have found their purpose move purposefully, as if they are going somewhere. Their aim is clear, their stride is confident. Those with no aim meander through life, trying to fit into someone else’s vision. They begin to exaggerate the losses and feel cheated by life.
Begin your business journey by establishing your own purpose. Try to summarize your mission in a few brief sentences. Be sure your mission ignites your passion. Just thinking of and stating your purpose should quicken your pulse and brighten up your day.
Design your purpose to benefit others. A great purpose serves humanity. As you formulate your mission, share it with people you respect. See if they react favorably. When your mission is meaningful, your natural enthusiasm inspires other people. Find the primary thing that moves you. It’s hidden within the activity that you most enjoy. The more you refine your mission, the happier you will become. Life is much more interesting when you make a big impact.
A proper mission is based on ambition. It requires a strong ego. Leaders are moved by one of three basic drives: Wealth, fame and winning. At the most basic level, entrepreneurs are not more noble than other people. We just want to get our way, just like happy children who demand everything without guilt.
To harness your inner drive you
