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Summary: Your mission is a discovery, not a creation . . .
Review: . . . The Path will help you with the discovery process.Close your eyes for just a moment and think of the word BLUE. What did you see? Most will see some shade of the color blue in their mind, or the sky, or water, or maybe even someone who is sad. The point is you did not see the letters BLUE. We do not think in words. We think in images and pictures. These images elicit our emotions, and where there is an emotional connection, action soon follows. In The Path, Laurie Beth will help you discover the imagery that is most powerful to you. The picture of what your Path in life is. Your mission is not a creation, but a powerful discovery of what is already inside of you, waiting to be expressed. Like the needle of a compass being drawn to magnetic north, your heart will be drawn to your personal mission in life, pulling your actions into alignment. As a Personal Leadership Coach I strongly recomend to my clients that they discover their personal mission. To help them with that process I highly recommend The Path.
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Summary: Your mission, should you decide to accept it...
Review: ...is to read this book, do the exercises, and develop a mission statement that fits you. Then, live it out! This is much more than a "self-help" book, this is a book of self-discovery. Find out how God has "wired" you, create a vision for your life, and see what unique way you can benefit humankind. If you're ready for your life to be revolutionized, this is the book that can do it. If I'd have read this book sooner, I'd have given it to every high school and college graduate I know. Of course, "The Path" is not just for graduates, it's for everybody. An excellent, excellent book.
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Summary: A step in the RIGHT direction :-)!!
Review: After reading just the introduction, I said to myself "This book is coming home with me". If you're searching for inner peace and direction start here. It takes you step by step through the process of what one needs to do. It's very easy to read and the exercises are indepth, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It really gets you thinking and ultimately more focus on YOU. Purchasing her other two books will be a wise investment. She is truly a blessing. Enjoy your RANCH !!
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Summary: Can make a difference in your life if you let it
Review: At a time in my life where I felt I had to better define my direction, I began searching for some practical help. I turned to this book which had been sitting on my shelf for almost two years. One WARNING though...do not read this like a motivational book. This is a practical manual with exercises in each chapter. DO NOT convince yourself that you don't have the time to carry these out. Make the effort to do all the exercises and you will be amazed at what you find out about yourself. You will start to feel a new purpose. By putting together my mission statement I am beginning to get a picture of how all aspects of my life can and will fit into this mission. I am using this book in conjunction with the Pathfinder by Nicholas Lore to start me down the PATH.
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Summary: Excellent reference to let you create your mission statement
Review: From the introduction: "People with clearly defined missions have always led those who haven't any. You are living your mission or you are living someone else's. Which shall it be?" Jones provides guidance to help you define your mission statement, refine it, and create your vision. She provides a chapter on eleven myths of what a mission statement is not. Jones addresses not only the skills that you may want to develop in your mission statement but also dreams and encouragement, hurts and pushes that helped shape your life that impact your mission and vision. The book is written in an easy to follow language and is filled with ancedotes that get the point across and includes "case studies" based on six historic and Biblical figures. This book can be used not only by individuals, but also for organizations seeking a more coherent "vision." Working through the exercises will make you really sit back and think about what you want out of life, bring you to tears over past hurts, and help propell you to get your mission defined and implemented.
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Summary: Excellent reference to let you create your mission statement
Review: From the introduction: "People with clearly defined missions have always led those who haven't any. You are living your mission or you are living someone else's. Which shall it be?" Jones provides guidance to help you define your mission statement, refine it, and create your vision. She provides a chapter on eleven myths of what a mission statement is not. Jones addresses not only the skills that you may want to develop in your mission statement but also dreams and encouragement, hurts and pushes that helped shape your life that impact your mission and vision. The book is written in an easy to follow language and is filled with ancedotes that get the point across and includes "case studies" based on six historic and Biblical figures. This book can be used not only by individuals, but also for organizations seeking a more coherent "vision." Working through the exercises will make you really sit back and think about what you want out of life, bring you to tears over past hurts, and help propell you to get your mission defined and implemented.
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Summary: Your Mission Is Mission Critical
Review: Go into any Fortune 500 company headquarters and not far from the door you will probably find a plaque with a mission statement and a vision statement. Since the early 1990's companies have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating mission and vision statements that serve as a anchor for all employee goals and objectives. Laurie Beth Jones reminds us why this is a critical investment for companies and urges individuals to invest the time, energy and discipline necessary to articulate their own mission and vision statements. She claims this is essential in order for one to gain a higher level of clarity for how daily activities align to fulfill an individual's goals and purpose. In addition, Jones asserts, "What we think about ourselves is clearly and unequivocally reflected in everything we say or do-in our work, our surroundings, our service to others. Therefore it is important to take the time to get a more clear picture of who we really think we are." This book is a "must read" for independent consultants, managers, and people in job transition. For the independent consultant the book offers exercises designed to help identify niche and ways to articulate value. With so many independent consultants-even within our Rochester community, the better the consultant has done the work of creating a mission it will help him/her determine the clients and companies that most align with the value they have to offer. For the manager, the book is full of ideas that may be useful in team building and in capturing the most for employees. As a manager, one gets rewarded for achieving results through other people. By taking the time with employee and teams and working through some of the exercises that allow individuals to determine the values that are important to them and the actions that are most rewarding they will be able to align projects with people in a way that enhances productivity. And for the individual in job transition the book offers key questions to help a person envision the type of work that best allows for the individual to live his/her mission in a work setting. To find a motivational and value based fit, the person seeking employment will have greater articulation of "bottom line" essentials that are fulfilling and motivating. Jones shares that "passion is power" and the more clearly defined and articulated that passion is-the more power that can be released. So what is the difference between a mission and vision statement? A mission statement is a sentence that articulates key actions, an audience, and a purpose. A mission statement must be broad enough to encompass many activities with a final outcome. Here are Jones ingredients to an effective mission statement: · A mission statement should be no more that one single sentence long. · It should be easily understood by a twelve year old. · It should be able to be recited by memory at gun-point. A vision statement is less of a strategy than an exercise in visualization. A vision statement requires an individual or a company to write down exactly what the "picture" will look like once the mission has been carried out. A vision statement requires imagination and what Jones calls positive "prophecy." Jones encourages that ,"One of the most important things we can do for others-and for ourselves -is to create and maintain an atmosphere charged with positive prophecies." That is what vision statements do-they project into the future and create a more desirable picture that is motivating, inspiring, and desired. For companies that are going through major changes and struggling with bringing the workforce along with the necessary changes, I recommend this book as a strategy to help leaders and managers to support staff in creating scenarios to create vision as leverage for change. A recommendation for leading you or your organization with the use of mission and vision statements is to keep both the mission and vision present together. With the latest technology, you can now watch two football games simultaneously. A television channel can be superimposed on another so you can follow two games at the same time, a "picture within a picture". That is exactly what is required to make the most use of mission and vision statements. They must be present while you are in the midst of your work and daily activities. The two pictures or channels Jones encourages you to watch are channel WCI (What Currently Is) and channel WCB (What Could Be). Keeping these two channels or pictures present allows for you, your team, and your company to make decision in alignment with the articulated mission and vision. I firmly believe that whether we are individual contributors or part of a corporate entity, we can offer the most value by being clear in our skills, gifts and purpose. This book will help you gain and articulate some of that clarity. In addition to this book, I strongly recommend Soloing-Realizing Your Life's Ambition by Harriet Rubin.
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Summary: I have found Laurie's books extremly valuable and helpful
Review: Great, how Laurie puts the ways Jesus acted and other stories from the bible and great ones in relation to our everyday life and our businesses. If you are familiar with the thoughts of the bible, you will see them in a new light and will really want to put them into practice. If you were not interested in the bible until now, Laurie will show you in an easy to understand way how practical these people were and how much we are still in similar problems. Many stories, put into new words and put in relation to Laurie's experiences and knowledge, can give us resolutions for our life and show us ways to really live it on highest standards. The words of Jesus, his "Mission Statement": "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." really becomes reachable.
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Summary: The Path: A great journey in defining self-purpose
Review: Henry Kissinger once said, "If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere." In this book, author Laurie Beth Jones takes that theme and runs with it, explaining both the importance and the process of defining and fulfilling one's own mission statement. She weaves a spiritual perspective throughout the book. In the first half, she describes how to find--and more importantly--how to fulfill, a personal mission statement. In the second half of the book, she provides case studies that focus on Biblical characters and their personal missions. Each chapter ends with a series of questions or exercises that stimulate further thought and help the reader work through the concepts and ideas presented. Much of what Jones wrote appealed to the self-help junkie in me, and I found myself reaching for my highlighter so I could mark quotes and thoughts to remember and reread. "If your mission holds no personal passion, it is not your path." I kept underlining things and having a strong impulse to write "wow" in the margin next to these thought-provoking concepts. "Every word we speak, every action we take, has an effect on the totality of humanity. No one can escape that privilege--or that responsibility," she wrote. "One of the most important things we can do for others--and for ourselves--is to create and maintain an atmosphere charged with positive prophecies." That one got posted on my office wall. But the book offers much more than just a thought-provoking collection of inspirational quotes. Jones defines the elements of a good mission statement, dispels eleven false assumptions about missions, explains how to form a sense of mission, explores how personality affects personal mission, and explains how to craft a personal vision statement. The book is a fantastic resource and a valuable experience in self awareness and defining self-purpose. The Path was an easy read with fairly short chapters that could easily be digested in between daily tasks, while waiting at your child's baseball practice, or taking a short break at work. I'd highly recommend reading it, if for no other reason than the value you'll get from examining your own life's purpose and priorities.
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Summary: The Path: A great journey in defining self-purpose
Review: Henry Kissinger once said, "If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere." In this book, author Laurie Beth Jones takes that theme and runs with it, explaining both the importance and the process of defining and fulfilling one's own mission statement. She weaves a spiritual perspective throughout the book. In the first half, she describes how to find--and more importantly--how to fulfill, a personal mission statement. In the second half of the book, she provides case studies that focus on Biblical characters and their personal missions. Each chapter ends with a series of questions or exercises that stimulate further thought and help the reader work through the concepts and ideas presented. Much of what Jones wrote appealed to the self-help junkie in me, and I found myself reaching for my highlighter so I could mark quotes and thoughts to remember and reread. "If your mission holds no personal passion, it is not your path." I kept underlining things and having a strong impulse to write "wow" in the margin next to these thought-provoking concepts. "Every word we speak, every action we take, has an effect on the totality of humanity. No one can escape that privilege--or that responsibility," she wrote. "One of the most important things we can do for others--and for ourselves--is to create and maintain an atmosphere charged with positive prophecies." That one got posted on my office wall. But the book offers much more than just a thought-provoking collection of inspirational quotes. Jones defines the elements of a good mission statement, dispels eleven false assumptions about missions, explains how to form a sense of mission, explores how personality affects personal mission, and explains how to craft a personal vision statement. The book is a fantastic resource and a valuable experience in self awareness and defining self-purpose. The Path was an easy read with fairly short chapters that could easily be digested in between daily tasks, while waiting at your child's baseball practice, or taking a short break at work. I'd highly recommend reading it, if for no other reason than the value you'll get from examining your own life's purpose and priorities.
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