“Oh, and one more thing—make sure you have an answer when people ask you ‘Why?’ That’s the most common question you’ll get. Make sure you can answer it before you start.”
This was one of the last pieces of advice Mark Dudek gave me during our first call. Mark had walked across America in 2021, and I reached out to him for some guidance.
He gave me tips on different types of shoes, dealing with the weather, and finding places to stay, but that last piece of advice—figuring out my ‘why’—was the most important.
At first, I thought, “Well… because I want to do it! That’s my why.” But then I started to question that. What happens when I get stuck in bad weather? Or something goes wrong? Things break? Or I find a great reason to quit?
Would “because I want to” be enough to keep me going on my worst days?
I didn’t think so.
I sat with this question for a few weeks. What was my real motivation for doing The Walk? What could I hold onto on the toughest days, so that every day I could make the same decision: to keep going?
I ended up reflecting on some of the questions listed in the attached PDF to nail it down. I knew I wanted my walk to be people-focused, to highlight the good in the world, and to work with those who were making a difference.
I eventually developed a mission statement and tagline for my walk. During the journey, I also discovered my overall vision and purpose for my life:
Mission Statement: My mission for The Walk is to highlight, learn from, and work with people in the USA who are making a real difference in their communities.
Tagline: There Are Good People Out There.
Vision for Life: To create the largest ripple I can, so that others feel inspired to take action toward their dreams.
Purpose: To serve humanity.
My mission, tagline, vision, and purpose all worked together to help me get from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
I’ve noticed people get very “tactical” when it comes to figuring out what they need to make their dreams a reality. And that’s great. Dreams without action are nothing more than thoughts.
However, as humans, it can be difficult to maintain momentum when we don’t have a solid WHY for what we are doing.
When the bad days come (“when”, NOT “if”), we need a pillar that will hold us steady to maintain movement towards where we ultimately desire to go.
Your “why” is that pillar.
ACTIVITY:
Journal about your motivation for achieving this goal. Below are ten prompts for you to get going.
- Why is this goal personally important to you?
- What impact do you hope to achieve by reaching this goal?
- What would it mean to you to accomplish this goal, and what would happen if you didn’t?
- What is the core purpose of this goal?
- Who will benefit from this goal, and how will you serve them?
- What specific actions will you take to achieve this goal?
- What does success look like for this goal in the long term?
- How will your life or the lives of others be different when you achieve this goal?
- What challenges might you face, and how will you overcome them?
- How does this goal align with your overall purpose or life direction?
Be sure that your mission statement meets the following requirements:
- No more than one sentence.
- Simple enough that a 10 year old could understand it.
- Recitable under extreme pressure
Need help crafting your mission statement? Set up a quick 15 minute consultation with me for feedback! Schedule HERE.