Seth Godin, author of What To Do When It’s Your Turn (And It’s Always Your Turn), says “Plans are great, but missions are better. Missions survive when plans fail, and plans almost always fail.” In my mind, another word for “mission” is “vision.” It’s important to have a vision in life, and hopefully, your vision in business matches.
Staying True to What You Believe
In Believe in More, I discuss the vision I’ve had for Total Life Changes since I started the company. The book focuses on the TLC Core Values I always talk about, but when I got to “Our standard is always giving more than what’s expected,” I realized I didn’t just mean a standard.
Giving more than what’s expected is truly my vision in life, and for my company. I’ve built TLC to be a company that cares about people. It’s a company that bases its success on the success of others. It’s a company that helps.
I like to think that we’ve always measured our success not in dollars and cents, but in the number of lives we’ve positively impacted. Even today, we base our decisions on what’s best for our customers, employees, and Life Changers. If that’s a good or a bad business decision, well, that’s just the way it is. We have to stay true to what we believe because our vision is always giving more than what’s expected.
Not Just Statements, Actions
If you research company vision statements online, you’ll find a lot of neat sentiments and phrases.
Nike: Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete.
Tesla: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
IKEA: To create a better everyday life for many people.
These companies back-up their words by turning their visions into action. A vision is no good to anyone if it doesn’t translate into something tangible. For me, I focus on the goodness in people to remind myself to be of service to everyone I meet. I believe we are all special. I believe we all have value. I make sure my company acts on those beliefs.
Believe in More: A Book and a Vision
I named my book “Believe in More” because it matches my vision and my philosophy. We should always be striving to find more: more happiness, more ways to serve, more ways to love. The book isn’t about acquiring more money or more things, but being more aware of the opportunities to enjoy the people who bless our lives.
The book ends with me challenging people to impact the world in a positive way. We can work toward a greater good and still manage successful businesses. Align your vision in life with a vision in business that lets your success enable the success of others.
Believe in more happiness. Believe in more passion. Just believe in more.
Jack Fallon
