I have a confession to make. I love self-improvement books. Back in my yuppie days, I spent hours pouring over books on time-management, listening skills, presentation skills and more. Out of the hundreds of business books I read while working for the electric cooperative program, the one that made the greatest impact on me was Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Effective People. Twenty years after I first read it, the book still sits on my favorite's bookshelf. I still use a weekly calendar based on his approach, and I still strongly believe in having a personal mission statement.
But the mission statement of a young woman focused on family, career and community is very different from that of a middle-aged woman exploring her long-dormant artistic side. It took awhile, but I finally feel confident that I know where I'm heading. Here's my new mission:
