While setting goals is an important task in the personal brand strategy, there are several different ways to identify and rank the personal goals.
I started out by trying to identify what I value most in life and what my virtues are. I have taken some of the ideas from organisational management literature, books about creating mission statements in businesses and applied those on the situation of a person.
As an individual I have values and virtues, just as organisations do. The difference is that a conflict of values seldom occurs within the same person, the same way that they do organisations. This does not mean that there are no conflicts in personal values, but rather that the conflicts are in the form of prioritising between values. The problem is that this is a dynamic process, and that one value not always can be prioritised in front of the other. For example, the strive for success in profession can not always be traded for the love of the family.
This is the first draft for my personal mission statement. It will change and evolve over time, but this I think this is a fairly good ground for the future:
My mission is to be happy and to be part of making other people happy as well. I will do this by working continuously with my personal development from my basic values and virtues. The following values and virtues will guide me:
Integrity
Be clear and straightforward in the communication with others.
Standing up for my believes and opinions, even when doing so is unpopular.
Be honest and admit when I am wrong. When I have established that I am wrong, I shall tell the involved ones that is the case.
Keep my promises and don’t commit myself to things that I cant keep.
Success
Continuously work with my personal development.
Always put in 100 % when I commit to something, and not commit to any thing that I feel that I won’t be able to give 100 %.
Be an inspiration to others.
Be entrepreneurial and give back to the society.
Be an appreciated leader that takes initiatives, motivates and that takes action.
Be known for being successful, honest, driven person that cares about the people behind the business.
Freedom
Belive in every persons possibility to rule and change his/hers own life.
Being self confident and balancing it with a humble attitude.
Be proactive and by being that, create possibilities to be spontaneous and impulsive.
Health
Stay in shape, as well in body as in spirit
Listen to my body and act upon eventual warning signals.
Take responsibility for the place we live in (charity, the environment, not being a burden to society).
Relations
Prioritise my family and friends, as they mean the most to me
Be a support and help my fellow humans.
Make other people better by inspiring and motivating.
Be known for being a helpful person that values family, friends and relations.
Being a person that takes the time to meet with the people that matters the most.
With my mission in mind, now it is time to start thinking about what specific goals and milestones I will be using to fulfill the mission. Not everything I do can be in line with the mission as conflicts will arise, but the mission statement will guide me in the quest for hapiness and fulfillment of what I value most.