I‘ve spent quiet moments reflecting on my purpose in life. In so doing, I have come to realize that my personal mission is to:

1. Understand the world around me.
2. Create order from within the apparent chaos.
3. Share unconditionally the abundance in my life.

I especially find it invigorating to see how my personal mission aligns with my work as a marketing professional. Any good marketer, after all:

1. Seeks to understand by listening, asking lots of questions, reading and conducting some type of market research.
2. Creates content, tells stories and produces materials to help consumers navigate through the chaos of a noisy market place.
3. Shares ideas using a variety of traditional and new media, helping individuals to make good decisions and wise purchases.

Life is great when one’s personal mission aligns with a noble career calling (such as nonprofit marketing).

The first thing I do when confused or needing motivation is to ask myself, “Why I’m doing this? What’s the purpose? What is my mission?”

When I began working at the American Red Cross four years ago, I clarified the role of our marketing and communication function, articulating that our mission is to:

1. Build and strengthen interactive relationships with key audiences.
2. Increase community support of the local chapter.
3. Generate revenue, both philanthropic and earned income.

Amidst the rush of our frenetic daily activities, that mission continues to anchor me and my team as we work on a variety of important projects.

My marketing team here at the American Red Cross accomplishes its work in these three steps:

1. We seek understanding. We listen. We ask lots of questions. We read what others are saying. We set up RSS feeds, do Google searches and filter incoming information through tools such as TweetDeck. We study the landscape and we keep asking lots of questions.
2. We create content. We have a story to tell. In fact, we have lots of stories to share. We write content for our Web site. We take pictures and upload them to our Facebook fan page. We produce award-winning print publications. When appropriate, we send out news releases, e-mails and tweets.
3. We engage in conversations. In this 2.0 world of social media, we can no longer be content to just push out communications. We must participate in conversations going on around us. Sometimes we even initiate conversations on our Facebook page or through other media. We will join ongoing conversations by commenting on blog posts or someone’s Facebook status update. We look for ways to keep conversations alive by using such tactics as retweeting, linking to other blogs and other interactive methods.

While our mission remains constant, social media have given us new tools for doing our work. They’ve changed the way we achieve the results we seek.

What I love about my job is that it directly parallels my personal mission, which is to 1) understand, 2) create and 3) share.

Some people complain that the line between our personal and professional lives is becoming blurred. I smile, content in knowing that my personal and professional worlds are parallel and synced. It’s hard to know where one ends and the other begins. Life and work are good when there’s a holistic synergy between the two.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to remake the classic movie A Wonderful Life so we could see what the world would look like had we never come into existence. What would the company look like if marketing never appeared on the organization chart? What would be lost if my marketing group “went out of business?”

When I assumed my marketing responsibilities at the American Red Cross three years ago, I quickly worked with my team to develop a mission statement. It helped us in several ways. First, it anchored us, giving our work a deeper sense of purpose and reminding us of the important role we play. The mission statement guides us as we choose from among competing priorities, especially when we are trying to allocate our limited resources. It also illuminates our day-to-day activities and helps in making wise decisions.

I am not, however, one who gets caught up in writing flowery, eloquent mission statements. Too often those are written to impress others rather than to guide marketing in making good decisions. I want my work to be grounded on a mission statement that is relevant, memorable and brief. It should be something I can recall as I’m talking about a project with a co-worker. Or meeting with my boss when we’re reviewing my expense budget. Or as I’m away from the office representing my organization in the community. It should be backdrop against which I do everything.

So why does the American Red Cross of Greater Kansas City need marketing? The quick answer is — To help the organization achieve its mission. Marketing exists to:

1. Build interactive relationships with key audiences. The word interactive may seem unnecessary. After all, aren’t all relationships interactive? It’s there to remind us that we live in a 2.0 world. No longer can we be content to just push out information through the traditional media. We also must use the new media—the social media—to connect, to converse and to engage.
2. Increase community support. Some purists might say this is a process, a means to an end. It’s in our mission, though, to remind us to go beyond making people feel warm and fuzzy about the Red Cross. We need to look for ways to involve people. Our communications must include calls to action, either direct or implied.
3. Generate revenue, both philanthropic and earned income. Accountants define marketing and communications as overhead. To them, we’re an expense, a drain on organizational resources. Not for a moment will I allow myself to think like that. My marketing group generates revenue. We may not directly raise funds, but we very much contribute to the success of those who “reap the harvest” which we have helped to plant. The organization’s bottom is stronger because of our marketing work. We bring in more than we consume.

As organizations focus on survival in this tough economy, every program, every department and every position deserves to be carefully scrutinized. As companies become leaner, I am committed to being muscle, not fat. I therefore keep repeating my mantra:  I’m here to build relationships, to increase support, and to generate revenue.

Excellent question. She’s probably among a majority of business people who are confused about the two. Not knowing the difference contributes to foggy thinking and an incomplete vision. Here’s how I distinguish the two:

1. A mission statement is present tense. It focuses on what your organization is today. It concentrates on the company’s current purpose and addresses why the business exists.
2. A vision statement is future focused. It paints a picture of what you want the organization to become. It defines the new reality you hope to create in the future.

The mission and the vision should be complementary.

A mission statement should be differentiating and guide management in making day-to-day decisions about the company’s operations.

A vision statement, on the other hand, is usually more inspiring. Rightly done, it reflects the shared vision of the key stakeholders. It’s something everyone feels passionately about. People should rally around their vision, and it should compel them to work together on making that vision their new reality.

You see, I’m one of those people who needs to know WHY. I want to understand my raison d’être—my reason for being. I’ve spent quiet moments thinking about my purpose in life, and I’ve come to realize that my personal and professional missions merge together seamlessly.

My threefold mission in life is:

1. To understand the world around me.
2. To create order from within the chaos.
3. To share unconditionally the abundance in my life.

That’s it in three word:  understand, create and share. Those words came to life after I spent considerable time exploring the colorful dimensions of each.

To Understand.

I am a lifelong learner, committed to exploring the world with a childlike curiosity. I never begin a journey of discovery by seeking answers. Instead, I first make sure I’m asking the right questions. The answers magically manifest themselves as I coax them out of hiding through authentic inquiry.

Although I believe everything happens for a reason, I also want to understand why. My quest for understanding compels me to find out why things happen the way they do. Therefore, I approach a job loss, a cancer diagnosis or any other teachable moment as a unique opportunity to understand God’s plan for my life. Such opportunities never make sense as they are unfolding. Only afterward am I able to look back and slowly comprehend the infinite value of the experience.

Only as I first lay a solid foundation of understanding am I able to fulfill the next two dimensions of my personal mission—to create and to share.

A favorite quote:  Seek first to understand, then to be understood. (Stephen Covey)

To Create.

Life often appears fragmented. It’s like I’m looking into a kaleidoscope seeing random patterns of colorful objects. My life purpose is to rearrange the elements within the chaos to create something of value.

Any life transition is a fertile time sandwiched between deconstruction and construction. It provides a special opportunity to create, to construct and to arrange the building blocks into something new. The chaos within a transition represents my opportunity to create a new juxtaposition of the existing materials.

Only after I’ve gained understanding and created something of value can I then move to the third element of my mission—sharing.

A favorite quote:  Confusion is a word we have invented for an order of things not yet understood. (Henry Miller)

To Share.

I try to live daily with an abundance mentality (as opposed to a scarcity mindset). The basic premise is that there will always be enough for everyone. What I give away does not subtract from what I have left. Strangely, when I give unconditionally with no expectation of any return, I receive back many times what I originally shared.

As others experience life changes and navigate their own transitions, I am willing to share with them the understanding I gained in the first phase of my mission, and I also seek to share what I’ve created in the second phase.

So the third reason God placed me here on this earth is to share with others. Generously. And unconditionally.

A favorite quote:  Remember this—whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (Jesus Christ)

Have you thought about your purpose in life? What is your personal mission? Have you discovered your unique, high calling?