Businesses and organizations often have a mission statement that helps to guide them in their mission and purpose. This idea of a mission statement shows up often in leadership books and conferences. The mission statement is important because it sets the purpose and direction of the organization.

But have you ever thought about turning that around and applying it to life at home? Families are not unlike businesses. There is work to be done. There are goals to meet. There are budgets to follow. There is a lifestyle to maintain.

First, I want you to ignore the part about business where people want to make money. In regards to family, compensation is of a different currency. So if you have to think in terms of increasing your profits, I want you to think about increasing the amount of love you have.

What is the purpose or mission of your family? This is actually a difficult question for me to answer. I have a hard time finding the words for it. When I do try to spell it out, it ends up being much longer than a short and sweet mission statement. The leadership books say a mission statement should be simple and concise. Mine is not yet complete, but I have learned a few things along the way.

If you don’t have a purpose or direction for your family, then it is very easy to get caught up in the current of our culture. Our culture tells us that we have to reach a certain level of lifestyle to be happy. It says we need to have more of this and we will be happy. The truth is, when you get there or obtain those things, you just see the next level and set your goals to obtain more. That path never ends. There will always be someone who has more than you do. Those who reach the top in that game desire the life of the simple.

Maybe you don’t have a mission written down, but I bet you have an idea of the direction you are leading your family. If you are trying to lead your family, then you must have an idea of where you are going. The question is, who is really deciding where you are going. Are you letting other people and circumstances determine your goals and direction? I used to lead that way, and it led me down a path that I would not survive if I kept going. I am still digging myself out of that hole.

Maybe you are recovering like me. Maybe this is a wake up call for you. I hope that I at least got your attention. I know families that written mission statements that are framed on their wall. But that part is not necessary. It is more important that your mission is written on your heart. So if you think writing it down is hokey, then ignore that part, but I hope that at least you begin to think about it. What direction are you headed now? Where will you end up if you keep going that way? What change in direction might help you out today?

What do you think about family mission statements? Do you have any tips on how to maybe write one?

[Photo Credit - mikebaird on Flickr]

To persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

This is the definition of persevere according to Dictionary.com.

Leaders do not give up. They lean into the obstacles and push through. When they fall down, they get back up. Where others see failure, leaders see the opportunity to try something different until they have success.

Leaders persevere because if they give up, they let down those they are leading. As a parent, I can’t give up on my kids. As a husband, I can’t give up on my marriage. Leading a family is not easy. We are all human and we are all flawed. We make mistakes and mess things up. But I believe that there is power in family. Family members will make sacrifices for each other that they would never do for anyone else. How far would you go to help your parents, siblings, or your children?

Perseverance happens when we focus on the purpose and keep going no matter what. I don’t care how many times you have fallen short. I want you to get back up right now and try again. Don’t quit. Not today, not tomorrow. Whatever it is that you need to push through right now, keep pushing.

I write these words because I need to remember them every day. I am not quitting today and neither should you.

This is the first post in an ongoing series about action steps that leaders take. I felt that since this post was the start of the series that it would be appropriate to lead off with this.

Leaders START.

Have you ever had an idea, but never got around to starting on it? There is always some excuse or reason that you haven’t started it. But it would be awesome if you ever get around to it. Today might be your day to decide to put excuses to the side and start. It doesn’t have to be a big start, it can be as simple as writing it down. Don’t think about tomorrow or how long it will take, figure out the first step and start right now.

I am trying to start something with this blog. I believe that everyone can find value in applying leadership principles at home. Our families need leadership. Our kids are growing up in a different world than we did and they need us to help them get started. Our communities need leadership and I believe it all starts at home. I don’t care how well you can lead big organizations. If you can’t lead at home, does the rest of it matter? I am still learning a lot about leading at home and I want to help you do that too.

If you feel like you have trouble getting started, I highly recommend that you pick up Jon Acuff’s new book, ‘Start.’ It releases on Monday, April 22nd, and if you pre-order it you can receive some free cool resources that go with the book. You can purchase the book from any retailer and then visit this link to submit your receipt and receive some awesome free downloads.

So what are you going to start today? I would love to hear about what you are starting.

I believe that everyone is a leader in some capacity. Some people lead businesses, some lead churches, and others lead families of various shapes and sizes. And even if you think you are all alone, you still have to lead yourself.

The basics of leadership are the same no matter how large your organization or tribe is. If we can all step back and see ourselves in a position of leadership, we can apply some simple leadership principals to get better results in all that we do.

Leadership = Influence

I first heard his equation from John Maxwell. Leadership is not about size, numbers, profit, or status. We can have all of those things and not be leading well. We can get those things with very negative actions. True leadership is measured by the amount of influence you have. If you think that you are not a leader, take a look around and notice where you have influence.

My wife and I lead our family together. We share the responsibilities around the house and with all that goes into parenting our children. We have a shared influence with each other and we have great influence on our children. We influence them when we don’t even realize it. Have you ever had someone tell you that you act just like your mother or father? Some of that may be hard wired into a child, but they learn everything about this world from who they spend the most time with. Our behavior as parents is influencing our kids whether or not we are being intentional about it.

We all have influence somewhere. It is our responsibility to create and encourage good things to happen with our influence.

Remember today that you are a leader.

If you want to lead others well, you have to learn how to lead yourself first. Would you follow an Amazon Jungle Tour Guide deep into the Amazon forest if he didn’t know where he was going? I wouldn’t either. I would hope that at least he had a map.

You may be leading others and finding success right now while neglecting yourself, but eventually life may catch up to you and derail you and all of those who are following you. If your house is in order, then that will minimize problems down the road and set you up to be more prepared when facing other challenges.

“So check yo self before you wreck yo self”. Even Ice Cube was dropping leadership nuggets in the early 90′s.

The hardest person to lead will always be yourself because you know how to influence you better than anyone else. I struggle with self leadership on a regular basis and have to work very hard to keep myself on track. I seem to get one thing under control while another part of my life goes neglected. It is difficult to keep everything in check between our finances, career, family, social, spiritual, and physical aspects of our lives. And too often we are more worried about some other distraction and we forget about ourselves. That can only lead to trouble with the most important people in your life.

Are you leading yourself well? What do you find most difficult about leading yourself?