Tools

In a previous post I talked about my mission (the WHY). This post talks about HOW I live out my mission. The WHAT of my mission would the out come of doing the different HOWs.  Are you with me?

Chris Brogan gave the opening keynote at Podcast Movement 2014 in Dallas, Texas this past August. He drove home the importance of knowing what your mission in a way I’d never heard before.

The big epiphany I had was seeing the huge difference between MY MISSION and the TOOLS used to implement and address that mission. So many conferences and trainings I’ve gone to address different tools–the HOW (e.g. podcasting, email marketing, SEO, etc.), but they rarely if ever get to the heart of of the WHY–getting really clear on the deeper reasons and purpose the tools serve–to accomplish the mission.

And so we all fly around in our spaceships networking and putting more tools in our tool boxes because surely we need to be more effective and have more tools, but I think many of are doing this without a clue about what we are really meant to use those tools for.

So before you go out to acquire more tools, make sure you know what the mission is so that you’re gathering the right tools to address the right mission.

As I think about the things I naturally enjoy and am interested in it comes down to a series of activities I’ve been doing and others I intend to do more of. Here are some of the ways I live out my mission:

  • Project management
  • Copy writing & editing
  • Writing
  • Online Marketing
  • Podcasting
  • Coaching

I see all of these HOWs as ways to reduce chaos, find clarity and communicate the intended message in a way that’s readily understood.  It’s interesting to filter new opportunities through the filter of my WHY and my core HOWs. In some cases it makes it a lot easier to make decisions because it’s really clear that while certain activities look fun they don’t fit into my WHY or HOWs.

Does this make sense or are there certain parts that need more explanation?