FOR us to find out who we can be and should be, our mission in life, so to speak, we must first know our strengths (mind and body) as well as our passion (soul and spirit). In her workbook The Path, Laurie Beth Jones wrote some suggestions as to how we can develop our own mission statement. If corporations have mission statements, so should we as individuals. The book The Path offers the reader a menu of action verbs, such as motivate, inspire, recognize, educate, plan, etc. and another menu of industries, groups, or causes, such as education, media, finance, politics, law, animal care, etc.
The reader will then choose an activity or activities and an industry based on his own strength and passion. Jones said the selected combination should be something that we are good at and, more important, passionate about. Jones said that “if your mission holds no personal passion, it is not your path.” After reading The Path, I discovered that my preferred action verbs were to reform, organize and lead. Applying the principles in Jones’s book, I should be doing these activities in life and fulfill my mission in life to be true to myself.
In one of his earlier hit songs, American pop singer Bruno Mars said: “I wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad, buy all the things I never had, uh, I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine, smiling next to Oprah and the queen”. He wants to buy this, have this and do this. The mission of that person in the Bruno Mars’s song is a state of having fame and fortune. However, in Jones’s book, a mission is never about a state or a target but a mission is more of an activity or a series of activities in a particular industry.
In recent history, we have witnessed the greatness of some successful people who simply pursued and focused their energies on activities they passionately love the most. And there must be something about the name Michael. Aside from arguably the best player who has ever played the game of basketball Michael Jordan, we have seen the successes of Michael Phelps, Michael Jackson and Michael Kors, to name a few.
Having earned the most medals in Olympic swimming, Phelps began swimming at the age of 7. Called the “King of Pop”, Jackson made his professional debut at age 6 as a member of the Jackson 5. Kors’s affinity for fashion started when he supposedly redesigned his mother’s wedding dress for her second marriage when Kors was 5 years old. The first skater in the Winter Olympics to come from Southeast Asia was a certain Filipino named Michael Martinez, who began skating at age 9. One thing in common from these successful Michaels is that they started very early in doing whatever activity they were most passionate about. They might not have formulated a mission statement as prescribed by Jones, but they surely followed one, albeit unconsciously. But one successful Michael closest to my heart is one veterinarian who, just like Phelps, Jackson, Kors and Martinez, started following his mission in life at a very young age.
Doctor Michael, or Mike to his family and friends, displayed a very keen interest on animals as he took care of dogs, chickens, birds, fishes more than just pets. While in grade school, Mike already professed to his parents and siblings that he wanted to become a veterinarian. However, his father discouraged him from doing so. Growing up in a military family (father and brothers were in the armed service) and exposed to military traditions, as he spent most of his childhood summer vacations in camps, Mike went against the wishes of his father to join the Navy. Mike’s father even chastised Mike when he took up veterinary medicine instead of the “regular” medicine. In those days, one can hardly imagine a son defying a father, a military father at that. Despite this, Mike followed his dream, pursued his passion and has become one of the most sought-after doctors, speakers and authorities in animal surgery. After more than 10 years in extensive veterinary practice in Seattle, Washington, Mike has recently been designated as the Ryan Hospital director and chief medical officer of the prestigious University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, ranked fifth among all veterinary schools worldwide. I have to say that my youngest brother, Dr. Michael Sandy Bueno Mison, has achieved all of these things by just being true to his heart and to himself.
That famous jingle in the Gatorade commercial of Michael Jordan comes to mind every time I realize the accomplishments of my brother Mike. Remember the lyrics of “Be Like Mike”? “Sometimes I dream that he is me. You’ve got to see that’s how I dream to be. I dream I move, I dream I groove. Like Mike. If I could Be Like Mike…” Former US President Abraham Lincoln once said, “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” In life, when we do what we like, but not necessarily be “Like Mike”, we become the best that we can be.