It has happened AGAIN. Another missed family dinner by one or more members. This would not have been so important had not the whole family decided after reading the Purpose Driven Life they had had enough of missing out on each other’s lives. Now, the most recent incident at Virginia Tech brings it home once again.

How do we create value in decisions for our family? Perhaps the recognition that service to one another is the first mission or value best learned early in a family’s life. “”We serve our children by raising them with love and understanding. We serve our communities by offering our time and resources to those in need. We serve a higher power by serving our fellow man” writes Don Midgett, author of Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future. “Whether it is in a personal, community or business endeavor, our true mission begins with service to others.” This mission can be created together. In fact, it can only succeed if all members of the family participate authentically.

Setting a mission and vision statement down in words is a unifying and powerful tool for each member and for the “whole” of the family. Because each has worked to create the mission and also the future vision for the family, values can remain strong and even growth or change can be understood and agreed on by all. If you need help with creating your mission and vision statements, visit the website listed in the Author Resource Box and use the exercises in the e-book Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future. These exercises and the materials are applicable to individuals as well and you get a process, complete with easy-to-use exercises, that make for a perfect addition to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life book and allow you to discover and write your personal or family mission and vision statements.