Call it a mission, a personal values statement, vision statement or any other multitude of names, but having a personal manifesto keeps you grounded and maintains your value. Especially as you encounter hiccups, missteps and mistakes along your professional journey and ultimate success.
Benjamin Franklin, Marc Ecko, Pharrell Williams, Frank Lloyd Wright, Steven Pressfield and numerous other key figures and companies have all created manifestos. Whether it was to remind themselves of what’s important in this world or who they are in it, I’d like to think that they stayed pretty true to their word.
Dear Entrepreneurs, and the general population for that matter, you constantly find yourself pushing the boundaries of what is possible and taking on continuous risks to see what your ideas, solutions, products, services, and so on are worth.
You have an innate ability to constantly think outside the box, and you therefore, may encounter a bit of opposition along the way. Hence, having a personal manifesto can really keep you focused and mindful of why you have chosen the path that you have.
So, What is a Manifesto?
According to Wikipedia, a manifesto “is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government.”
Okay, let’s not talk politics or government here and keep focused on you, the individual. By taking the time to craft a well thought out statement of personal values, you will invariably know: 1.) What your worth is, 2.) When your values and ethics are being tested and 3.) Your “why?”
Before I break those 3 reasons down, let me give you an example of my manifesto that I not only created, but published on my website:
Matt’s Manifesto:
Don’t pay any attention to the bulls–t. Don’t pay attention to the naysayers, the negativity, the uselessness, the un-impactful, the soulless, the fearful or the toxic. Don’t pay attention to the shiny things, the distractions, or the disguised. All of it is a waste of your precious time and your beautiful lives. I have seen it all, and I can tell you, it’s not real.
Demand to stay true to your morals and values, which will be greatly tested over time. Never compromise. Never waiver. Especially in business. Understand that it is all just a great test of your faith in the bigger, brighter picture that was specifically designed for you to grow and determine the kind of person you will become. Don’t pay any attention to the stress. It is made up. It is not real. Mankind creates it, and so too, can he eradicate it. What’s important, is knowing what’s important.
Do . . . embrace being different. Embrace your creative, curious and geeky side, yet stay focused, ambitious and hopeful. Have a healthy relationship with yourself and always do the right thing. Know your value and if you have to explain it to the people around you, then its time to move on. Challenge the status quo and never be afraid to admit you don’t know something. Every now and then take stock of yourself. Look around the room and ask yourself if you are the smartest person there. If you are, then you are in trouble. Always place yourself around smarter, more elevated people, and you too, will become smarter and more elevated.
REASON #1: Know What Your Worth Is
Creating a manifesto allows you to take a step back and look at all the variables that make up your worth. What is it about you that you bring to the table based on your character and experience? It also gives you a perspective on how you think about things.
This will be important when you decide on the professional environments you choose to engage with. Place yourself around the most appropriate people for you and you’ll see incredible results. Finally, it will create an “air of confidence” for your behavior in those professional environments.
If you know the position you’re coming from, it’ll be much easier to decide whether or not you are engaging with the right people or environments that are most suitable to you.
SPECIAL NOTE: Knowing your worth is incredibly important, but it’s also more important to remain humble. You’re constantly learning till the day you die. Remember that!
REASON #2: Your Values & Ethics Will Be Tested
This is HUGE!!! I can tell you first hand that one way or another, a client, partner, company, project, a group of individuals, or any combination of the aforementioned, will test your values and ethics at some point. This should be expected.
What’s important is that you have already created a predefined set of values, morals, ethics and code of behavior that you deem appropriate, which will ensure you don’t engage with individuals or occurrences that are not aligned.
While there are so many reasons that this topic is pertinent to your overall success, the bottom line is that you should always be ready to do the right thing. I promise you, while it may sting to do the right thing in the beginning, it will always come back to you ten-fold when necessary.
REASON #3: You Have To Know Your “Why?”
Not too long ago, I went through a personal executive branding program with Robin Bramman International (www.RobinBramman.com) and we started immediately at the “Why?” Why did I choose a path that leads me to the Internet? Why did I choose digital strategy?
Why do I focus on International Business and technology investments? Why Do I like to connect people, ideas and technology?” Why do I get up in the morning?
Why am I doing any of what I am doing? At the end, knowing my “why” leads me to where I’m headed. It keeps me focused on the tasks and people that matter and protects me from the ones that don’t. Know your “why” and you’ll be so much clearer on what you want to achieve.
Parting Thoughts
On the about page of my website I wrote my “why”:
To organize and contribute collective disruptive change through technology in the hopes of transforming global user experiences online . . . and the hearts of the end receiver of that change.
2 Other Great Resources:
Lifehack article on manifestos: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-awesome-inspirational-manifestos.html
Simon Sinek – Start With the Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
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Photo Credit (Header Graphic): Matthew Wiebe via Unsplash.com
