Personal Creed
Creating a Personal Creed is a good way to clarify your life’s values and goals. Author Napoleon Hill discusses this in his 17 Keys to Success in Principle 1: Definite Major Purpose.
He discusses the definite major purpose as being a guide or steering wheel to an individual’s life work. Without it, an individual has no direction and is not able to gauge success or failure.
Special thanks to my late, great, and lovely grandma (Carol J. Mitchell) who introduced me to his work. She use to constantly say, “Plan your work, and work your plan” another Napoleonism.
With this in mind, and many other things, I crafted My Personal Creed. I keep it posted in my room near my desk (where I spend a good amount of time due to graduate school and my nerd obsession with TED Talks).
Lessons on Living
Always choose love over wealth. It never works the other way around.
Always believe in yourself. You are more intelligent and better looking than you think.
Always give other people the benefit of the doubt. They are likely doing their best what they have.
Always go to the source with concerns. Never gossip; it creates distrust.
Always instruct with kind words. People do not do their best work when motivated by fear.
Always live within your means. If you buy things you cannot afford, they end up owning you.
Always end on a positive note. This is applicable in most of life’s arenas.
– Matthew Mitchell
Steps toward creating your Personal Creed:
1 Take time to reflect on values. What is important to you? Success, money, love, fun, work, play etc. Having trouble figuring it out? Talk to a trusted friend; ask them what you seem to value. Also, see if your behaviors match your values. Still not sure, take a values assessment online. I took How Do You Value Your Life?
2 Brainstorm. Write down everything that pops into that pretty little or handsome little head. Write it! Don’t worry about grammar or even what it means yet. Just slop it down on paper.
3 Now leave it, and go do something fun! Give it time to marinate. Use this time to reflect on your values, what you have written, and what you may want to add.
4 Write it! Clarify and establish meaning to what you brainstormed. Does it reflect you? Your values? Who you are in the moment?
5 Refine it. Your Personal Creed should be excellent, right? If something as important as a life mission is being crafted, shouldn’t it be your “A-Game” and not your “C-Game.” Give it some effort, put your back into it if you must.
6 Post it. Find a prominent space: by your desk, in your living room, on the bathroom mirror, in front of your toilet, any where you find your eyes looking at least a few times a day.
7 Get it in there (your mind). Read it, soak in it, ask yourself if you are living it, take time to share it, be brave and do it!
This is not easy work. It takes time, but a renewed sense of purpose and direction is what awaits you when you craft your personal creed and seek to live it.
Are you ready? Do your value yourself enough to take this time out and just do it?
Please feel free to share your Personal Creed! Contact me. I would love to include your Personal Creed on my site. More Creeds are More Fascinating Than One :).
Your Moment is Bright,
Matt
