Your Mission, Vision, and Values

Guideposts for any large project or business

I drew this cute and joyful illustration of the heart and mind being best friends. I used to think they were at odds with one another. The heart wants to expand and explore and be free but the mind wants familiarity, comfort, and security. It can feel like having to choose two different paths but in reality, there’s one path. They’re helping one another stay balanced and they’re working in harmony, as intended. When there is black-and-white thinking, it feels like there are only 2 roads that lead to separate absolutes. But when you understand the beauty of grays and colors, you can begin to see a perspective where the one path is colorful and adorned sometimes with comfort or sometimes with adventure, sometimes with sadness or sometimes with happiness. By nature, life is always dancing and weaving in intricate ways where some phases feel slow, comforting, or heavy and some phases feel fast, exciting, or light. They are all a necessary part of life. So live a full life by allowing yourself to feel, enjoy, and cherish all the colors you’re experiencing with the phase you are in right now. Sending you love! 💗 To buy prints of this artwork, visit my RedBubble shop!

If you are setting out to create a business for yourself as an entrepreneur or even if you’re creating something smaller scale through a long-term project or launch, I think it’s important to define your why. What is it about this endeavor that motivates you? Putting numbers or dollar goals aside, what is the core essence of what you’re doing that is coming from your heart? Why does doing what you do matter to the people you are doing it for? Before starting anything like a business, what is your mission statement, your vision, and your values?

In a previous post, I shared my mission statement:

I am a heart-centered coach who supports Asian millennials to deepen self-love and bridge intergenerational and cultural gaps, leaving them feeling more joyfully connected to themselves, to family, and to community, as well as empowered to live in greater alignment with their personal values and needs.

This is my north star because I know that this is coming from the depth of my heart. It is my purpose that will bring me fulfillment. If there is a project or business you’re working on, have you gotten clear on your mission statement? Is it something you feel passionate about and will keep working towards no matter what obstacles get in the way? I think a mission statement needs to be tangible, grounded, and specific. It’s clear that I’m not working with Gen Z, I’m not working with people on business goals, I’m not working with people on their nutrition or weight. It helps me focus on what matters to me.

Here is my vision for my business:

Be fully embodied in ourselves and feel deeply connected to each other.

To me, a vision is something that is far in the future. It probably won’t even be attainable in this lifetime but it is an ideal. It is something that you can work towards no matter what stage of your project or business. Will any one of us be fully embodied in this lifetime? I don’t think so because the journey to deeper and deeper awareness within our bodies is a never-ending journey. And will we ever feel deeply connected to everyone and everything else in this world? Maybe short intervals of this feeling-state may arise, but the realities of life and the disconnection that is currently present in our world means this likely won’t happen anytime soon. Because if it did, world peace and harmony would be around the corner. So what is your long-term vision? The ideal that you feel drawn to aim for?

Here are my top 8 values:

Community, Authenticity, Playfulness, Inspiration, Patience, Serenity, Beauty, Humility

What are the top 4-8 values that you live by? When you have to make a decision, how can these values guide you? And what do those values mean to you? My definition of how I incorporate authenticity into my life might be slightly different from your definition. Define exactly what they mean to you. How do they feel in your being when you read them? Does it ring true to the point where you feel it resonate throughout your whole body? You might have several core values that are already embodied as a part of you and will stay with you for life. For instance, I had compassion and growth as 2 top values of mine for a long time, but now I feel they’re very integrated into who I am already. So think of the core values you can grow into that are important to you. Our values may change over time so it’s also great to do a refresher on your values every year! Reading my values helps me re-orient. For instance, playfulness is one of my top values; the more I incorporate this value into my life, the more I begin to view the unknown through a lens of playfulness rather than fear.

Lastly, I wanted to share this visual anchor and reminder that I created for myself. Hopefully, it's a timely reminder for you too. Sometimes I keep striving too fast toward a target that I believe is a better version of myself, but when I do this too much I forget to acknowledge who I am today. I become too focused on where I want to go without taking a breather to see where I actually am so that I can check whether I want to re-orient myself.

This is a reminder to come back to your present self -- to feel how far you have come to be the amazing human being you are today, and to celebrate you just as you are in this moment. Let yourself feel proud and happy about you. I'm celebrating you too!

If you feel ready to reconnect with a deeper part of yourself and want me to support you through it, I have 2 spots opening up for 1-on-1 coaching in June. You can reach out to me via the contact form on my website or DM me here!

Here are ways you can support me and my work:

• I am a heart-centered coach who supports Asian millennials to deepen self-love and bridge intergenerational & cultural gaps, leaving them feeling more joyfully connected to themselves, to family, and to community, as well as empowered to live in greater alignment with their personal values and needs. Book a coaching series with me through my website: alaliwei.com

• If you love this newsletter, get value out of it, and want to support the time and work that goes into these posts, consider donating to me by becoming a paying subscriber even if you don’t get anything extra. You’ll encourage me to continue what I’m doing!

• Shop for stickers and prints of my artwork via RedBubble (@Liwei-Doodles). I get a cut of what you buy.

• Follow me on Instagram @tidbitsfromliwei