Episode 431: Designing Your Mission – 1 Simple Thing Online

On Today’s Show

Author and entrepreneur Pat Flynn compares your dream of starting a new business to flying an airplane. You get in a plane, you fly around, and it’s awesome! You have this freedom to do whatever you want. But unless you know where you’re going, you will eventually run out of gas, and you might end up further away from where your destination should be.

Pat says it’s important to have a flight plan or figure out what your mission is first. You’re building something that’s going to change other people’s lives, so there’s a lot at stake here. We want to make sure the things we do align with where we want to go.

Subscribe in iTunes | Subscribe in Stitcher

1 Simple Thing Action

Take the “Airport Test.”

1. Imagine, five years from now, you run into an acquaintance at the airport whom you haven’t seen for the past five years. They ask you how things are, and you truthfully respond with, “Things are amazing! They couldn’t be any better.”

Now ask yourself: is the idea you’re working on right now contributing to that five-years-from-now scenario?

2. Next, get out a piece of paper and divide it into four quadrants.

Write down the four most important areas of your life as headings for each section – for example, family, professional, health, and finances.
Bullet point each section with the ideas that come up for you as you imagine that airport scenario and how it would feel to talk about all the wonderful things happening in your life.