• Review, Revise, Rewrite? 3 Signs that Say It is Time to Work on Mission and Vision Statements
• Your Personal Mission Statement
• Health and Vitality
• Exercise Can Heal Body, Mind, and Soul

Hi everyone!  A couple of weeks ago we held our annual Kick-Off meeting to discuss our accomplishments from 2007 and our plans for this year.   We shared what we hope to achieve both personally and professionally and the Mack staff is aiming high!  A part of our Kick-Off meeting is to review all of our Core Values with our existing and new expanding staff.  We established our Core Values as a company over 10 years ago.  These Core Values define what we want to achieve everyday and what we stand for when we show up for work everyday.  We know that in order to achieve our goals this year, we will have to hold tight to these values.   An essential part of any business is the Core Values that serve as the foundation. Ask yourself these few questions…What values are so inherent in your company that without them you'd disappear?  Why do people enjoy working for you and why do people purchase from you or use your services? Your core values are the guiding principles that help you make decisions on a daily basis and define what you stand for as a person and a business. You can spend a lot of time haggling over what they are, but what really matters is that you have them and that you allow them to guide you.  Once you understand exactly what they are, you can become very intentional about how you use them to attract great clients and employees. We know how important it is to stress the mission and core values of your company, which is why we chose to publish an article to help evaluate your current mission and values.  Using your core values in the way you speak about your company, present your company to the public, and write about your company in your marketing, will have a dynamic impact on your bottom line.

Perhaps a few years ago you carved out a block of time to create a well defined mission statement followed by a clearly focused vision statement for your personal or business life. Your statements held values and goals that were easily shared with your employees. Now with the closing of the business year the life of these statements seems changed. Do you review, revise or rewrite? Here are three signs that will help you decide what your next step should be . . .

1. Customers and others have suggested services or products the mission statement does not cover.
"Your mission statement should be broad enough to encompass future products but also detailed enough to be realistic" says Don Midgett, author of Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future. "If it affects your business strategy then you know it is time to revise your mission statement."

2. Employees are uncomfortable with the need for change in the company's strategic direction.
"Some small and even large businesses forget that all employees need to understand the mission and be included in the direction or vision statement - by clear communication and involvement in strategic planning" Midgett writes. "It may be helpful to review the vision statement with employees each year."

3. How does your business resist problem-driven change?
"Staying stable during change demands focus and clarity about why you exist, and where you are going." Said Midgett, "You need to be able to answer what business you are really in, what business it will be in a few years from now and how would competitors answer these questions? If your mission and vision statements pinpoint your business and its day-to-day actions to advance your vision, chances are you are on the right track."

For additional information on the importance of mission statements and vision statements and for tools to help better understand mission and vision statements and how to use them effectively, go to http://www.missionvisionstatement.com.

Don Midgett is the author of Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future, 81 pages in digital format (pdf) at http://www.missionvisionstatement.com

Don is the managing partner for the GenesisGroup, helping organizations and leaders discover their full potential. Don specializes in workshops on mission and vision, strategic planning, and team building.

To begin your path to success, write your mission and vision statements! Need help? You can find it at http://www.missionvisionstatement.com - visit NOW - subscribe to our free newsletter, Mission Vision News, to learn more. Ready to go? Then purchase my e-book on mission and vision for one of the best business purchases you will make!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Midgett

One of the most powerful methods to cultivate the passion of vision is to create and live by a mission statement, philosophy, or creed. Such statements capture what you want to be and do – what qualities you want to develop, what you want to accomplish, what contributions you want to make. Clarity on these issues is critical because it affects everything else – the goals you set, the decisions you make, the paradigms you hold, and the way you spend your time.

A personal mission statement based on principles becomes a standard for an individual. It becomes a personal constitution, the basis for making life decisions as well as daily decisions in the midst of the circumstances and emotions that affect your life.

It is important to not become overwhelmed by the task of writing a personal mission statement or the need to make it perfect. Instead, write a rough draft and then work to refine it over the next several weeks or months. To help you get started, ask yourself the following questions.

>> What would I really like to be and do in my life?

>> What do I feel are my greatest strengths?

>> How do I want to be remembered?

>> Who has made the greatest positive impact in my life?

>> What have been my happiest moments in life?

>> If I had unlimited time and resources, what would I do?

>> What are the three or four most important things to me?

>> How can I best contribute to the world?

Because each individual is unique, a personal mission statement will reflect that uniqueness, both in content and form. An effective mission statement may consist of a few words or several pages. Mission statements can be written in poetry, prose, music or art, and written for individuals, couples, families, or organizations. Writing an empowering mission statement is not a “to do” list to be checked off. To be empowering, it has to become a living, breathing document. You must ponder it, memorize it, review it, update it, and write it into your heart and mind.

PJ Germain

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pj_Germain

Here we are in our final month of a very snowy winter and if you’re like most people in the city, you are ready to say sayonara to the icy weather!  You don’t have to put off going outside.  Instead of avoiding the elements at all costs—try having some fun in the outdoors.

The Museum of Modern Ice: This month you can check out The Museum of Modern Ice at Millenium Park.  Artic Paul Halloran’s exhibit Paintings Below Zero will be on display all month and features a 95 foot long artistic ice wall.  For more information visit www.museumofmodernart.com.

TOAST on the Magnificent Mile:  Moet & Chandon is hosting a month long celebration by bringing luxury champagnes to different Michigan Ave hotels, stores, and restaurants.  On the 29th the leap year will be celebrated with an elaborate fireworks show over the river.

  eMax Health The power of exercise is the key theme of "The Body-Mind-Soul Solution," a new book by author Bob Livingstone.

Earlier this year Newsweek profiled several studies that have shown that exercise can make you smarter by its ability to cause older nerve cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently. There are also other clues that physical activity can stave off the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease, ADHD and other cognitive disorders.  

A new study by The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology has found that exercise not only decreases depression, but also stimulates the growth of new brain cells. Other research indicates that exercise increases self-confidence and self-esteem, lowers anxiety and can bring about a state of calmness. Dr. Steven Keteyian, program director of preventive cardiology at the Henry Ford Heart & Vascular Institute in Detroit states that after only 15 minutes of intense exercise, increased endorphin levels are found. Increased endorphin levels lead to a state of well being.

Helping bring the practicality of this research into the daily lives of people is the basis for the book, The Body-Mind-Soul Solution: Healing Emotional Pain through Exercise. Author and therapist Bob Livingstone states, "Emotional pain can be defined, faced and worked through while you are exercising. The endorphins kick in and the brain chemistry changes. You feel stronger, more confident and calmer. This allows you to deal with your emotional pain in ways that couldn't be done while sedentary because this process would be too frightening while not working out."

Livingstone suggests a three-step process for tapping into the power of exercise for helping heal emotional pain: 1. Formulate a question to ask yourself about your emotional pain before you begin your work out. 2. Ask yourself this question while you are exercising. 3. Write your thoughts and feelings down immediately after your work out. As an option, he suggests incorporate listening to music as you exercise as a means for bringing up feelings and memories which may be more suppressed in your subconscious. There are case studies throughout the book that demonstrate the Body Mind Soul Solution's healing power. The book also teaches the reader how to define and clarify emotional pain issues.