Mission first…vehicle second

The writing process is very cathartic. It is also quite maddening.

When I set out to write my first full-length book I felt like I knew what I was getting myself into. I know plenty of other authors who have penned more than one book and their feedback had been the same. Be prepared for a grind.

It wasn’t the process of writing that was so difficult. It was actually the process of editing and formatting. Even though my book is now published, I still feel the need to continue polishing up the content and structure.

All that said, if you have ever thought of writing a book I highly recommend it. Even if you never finish the project, you will learn so much about yourself along the way that it is worth the effort.

If your book involves research and other people then you will learn a lot from them as well. In the process of writing my book, which started out as an exploration of my own personal debate between employment and entrepreneurship, I walked away with a lot of lessons in life.

The most profound lesson came from Canon Pattillo. By exploring Canon’s own career I learned that you should make your career decisions based on your personal mission. Decide what you want to accomplish in this world. Is it to become a millionaire or billionaire? If so, that is ok. Just be honest with yourself. Or, maybe you want to help people focus on life design first and careers second. Rather than what most people do. Which is designing their life around their work. That is my personal mission.

After you know your personal mission the next thing you need to do is decide the vehicle that will help you accomplish that mission. When I talk about the vehicle I am referring to your professional vehicle. What type of career will allow you best accomplish your personal mission? Does it require that you work for someone else or would you be better suited to work for yourself in order to have the freedom to pursue that mission?

In Canon’s career the vehicle didn’t matter. Whether he worked for someone else or worked for himself he was going to accomplish his personal mission either way.

That may not be true for you. With career choices there are a lot of factors that go into that decisions. Those factors can impact the path you should choose.

But you can’t weigh those factors and how they will impact your career until you know what your personal mission.

So, mission first…vehicle second.