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Time to wake up from the Dream and Execute the Mission

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Time to wake up from the Dream and Execute the Mission

The “I Have a Dream Speech” was arguably one of the top five speeches ever spoken.  I love performing and experiencing it each time I do it. It just fills my heart and soul as it does for everyone else. No doubt, it has served its purpose for over 50 years.

However, just like the constitution is a living document that can be added to over time with amendments, I believe “I Have a Dream” can and should evolve too. That’s why I wrote “We Have a Mission”. It is an amendment, a direct descendant of “I Have a Dream”. It is targeted at what is needed in 2016 and beyond.

A “Dream” connotes vision and hope, something we desperately needed in 1963. Likewise, a Mission connotes vision and hope too. But, it also adds specificity, goals and requires action on the part of everyone who takes up the mission. I for one feel our community is in desperate need of specific, unifying, short term goals that will enable us to “get unstuck” so to speak.

The last 20-30 years we have just been lingering, resting on the work that MLK and past civil rights leaders did. We haven’t created one unifying goal, with the exception of electing President Obama twice, that we can speak to universally. We have taken up individualism as an art form, when we still know deep down that we are seen and treated in most cases as a group. Sometimes, I think we are the only people who don’t see ourselves as a group. See that we rise and fall together, in most cases.

This is America and individualism is fine and the American way. However, we must realize that our success individually can be multiplied significantly is we used our collective power more effectively.

That is where collective goal setting and action becomes important and essential for our community.

In “Steps to the Promised Land” I listed 4 goals to have a mission for:

  • Stop the school to prison pipeline; reduce jail and prison time
  • Make education the number 1 priority,
  • Reduce violence and murders by 75%
  • Make families whole again

These are not all encompassing, but they are a start. Our first emphasis would be to communicate and agree on these goals as a community. They would/should be the overriding focus that drives us individually and as a community. They should all be measurable. The success of each should be communicated regularly to the group.

It should almost be like the pledge of allegiance. They should be reviewed at our churches, community centers, sports leagues, etc. Every child should know them. Every teenager should know them. Every young adult should know them. We should celebrate our success toward reaching our goals regularly.

The hard part, which shouldn’t be, is agreeing on what are the goals. Those four or a variation of them would be a starting point. I would add one more on economic empowerment, or say, business creation.

Once our goals are set we then establish what I call “gates” or “passage points”. They are measurement points that you don’t pass unless you are on target. If not on target, we establish corrective actions to enact.

The Power of Goals is:

  • Everyone can participate
  • Everyone can take responsibility
  • Everyone can serve the community and themselves
  • We see improvement regularly
  • Success breeds more success
  • It becomes “down” for people to work for something

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How to Develop Your Own Personal Mission Statement

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How to Develop Your Own Personal Mission Statement

Your personal development and motivation is the key to a successful and happy life. If you want to feel fulfilled from day to day then you need to know what makes you tick and how to get it. You need to be able to meet your goals and even exceed them and with a personal mission statement, you will be that much closer to being in the position to do so.  Mission statements are a great way to make it known to yourself and others just where you want to be and what your goals really are. When you know your goal, you can be constantly working towards them. If you simply bumble through life, you will not stay on course with the same amount of steady ease. Everyone can benefit from a mission statement and if you want to get where you are going you will start writing your own today.

Why a Mission Statement

Your personal mission statement is not only about getting what you want out of work or the people around you, it is also about giving back to the world and your loved ones. Do you have a mission for your family and community?  This mission statement will help you to find out just where you stand in the world and help you to find out just what you should be doing for those around you. If you know that there is more that you could be doing for the entire world then this will help you to realize those dreams as well.

Your personal mission statement will help you to evolve into the person that you have always dreamed of becoming. If you are sick and tired of being the kind of person who simply lets things happen to them then a mission statement is for you. You will become a person to reckon with, a powerhouse of determination and skill. This statement is going to change your entire life for the better and it will begin to do so immediately. As soon as you take the step to start writing, it you are going to begin to grow and evolve in ways that you ever thought that you could.

How to Write a Mission Statement

Start with just a simple pen and paper. Sit down and write about the person that you are today. Do you like yourself? Do you think that there are areas in your personal life that you could improve? Write about it and write how you are going to change for the better and how you are going to do it. Focus also on your strengths and your abilities. Write how you want to change and in what areas of your life as well as about the goals that you want to see yourself meet over time. Which goals are short-term ones and which are long terms goals. Write down all of the personal things that you want to see happen and change in your life and you will change from that day forward.

Sample Mission Statement

 My mission is to stop the school to prison pipeline in the African-American community and make sure education is provided to all who seek it. My mission is to reduce violence and murder by 75% in our communities and to make families whole again.  

In the book and DVD, Steps to the Promised Land , I talk about how important it is for us to have a mission for our community, family and personal life. I hope this articles inspires you to sit down and write your mission statement. Need a speaker at your next event? Book Gregg Riley www.greggriley.com.