Values + Mission Statements: At Home
As we build Breakaway, we have focused intentionally on our mission and values. We believe collaborating and memorializing them will help us remain true to our core as Breakaway grows. While we are passionate about Breakaway, all of us would say the most important thing in our lives are our families. Yet none of us have gone through this same, simple practice with those we value most. Have you?
If you have younger children, this is a great way to build your family’s foundation. Even if your children are grown and out of the house, it is still important to reflect on how you interact with them and the world. It is about about creating a family legacy of the heart and mind, with or without wealth.
The mission statement is a summary of your family’s goals and purpose, as such it might be easier to craft once you’ve defined your values.
Values can be single words or thoughts, like the ones listed below, whatever resonates with you and/or your family. These will act as a guide to how you live your life and interact with others.
Honesty / Trust / Family / Humor / Responsibility / Friendship / Patience / Hard work / Compassion / Justice / Respect / Philanthropy / Religion / Patriotism / Open-Mindedness / Teamwork / Gratitude
It is easy to pick a value, but another to live it. Be honest about what your family believes and how you can most authentically live your values.
Now it’s time for your mission statement. Review the values you’ve selected, and think about how you might verbalize the overall purpose and goals for your family. How do you want to interact with one another? If there is a family business, how do you plan to include members of the family? If there is wealth, how do you see it being passed on? If you were speaking to your future great-grandchild many years into the future, what would you want to say your family achieved and how did they act between today and then? What would you want them to understand and continue?
Once you have created your values and mission, how will these be reflected throughout your daily lives? Will others be able to recognize and verbalize your values based on your actions? Taking it one step further, do your investments and/or charitable giving habits reflect your family’s mission and values?
Sabrina Snow
Founder / Advisor
As with all things in life, living your values will take practice. Write them down and hang them somewhere you will see them every day. Pick one and work on how you can best exemplify it for a week; maybe write it on your bathroom mirror or set a calendar event to pop up on your phone.
It is easy to lose patience, spend a little too much time on your phone after a long day, or forget to say thank you when someone holds the door for you. Recognizing the disconnect is important, give yourself grace to be human, and continue to work on personifying your values and living your mission.
Similar to financial or estate planning, it isn’t about getting it done and putting it on the shelf, it is a guide to be revisited and revised.