I wrote my first mission statement shortly after moving to Portland, Oregon in 2007. It was a queue from reading “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”- a university graduation gift. Drowning in romantic chaos, I needed a simple statement to recenter myself. Being an engineer and feeling adrift, my “simple” statement covered 1.5 pages. While it stuck with me for a while, I missed the point of what the exercise was about.

I spent this weekend in southern Idaho with the ManKind Project making up for a seminar that was cancelled due to wildfires in August. Called a “New Warrior Training Adventure” it was a unique opportunity for personal growth.  I could write a lot about what we did, but I’d rather demonstrate what I learned in the way I live my life.

Among other things, we wrote a mission statement for ourselves. I had updated my original a number of times over the years, but this time it felt like I finally wrote something that really fits the bill:

“I create a world of abundance through authentic self expression.” (Skander Spies)

Abundance shows up many ways in my beliefs, and it is good descriptor for how much I got out of the seminar. Self help seminars have a stigma- I’m proud to say it was a cool experience that delivered as promised. Growing as a man in my community is as much of an adventure as anything, and I was proud to take the time this weekend to take the next step.

Respect the journey you were brave enough to put yourself on.