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PATH, THE: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life by Laurie Beth Jones
the PATH In a world in which we are daily forced to make decisions that lead us either closer to or further from our goals, no tool is as valuable in providing direction as a mission statement -- a brief, succinct, and focused statement of purpose that can be used to initiate, evaluate, and refine all of life's activities. Individuals and companies have recently been learning what history has demonstrated all along -- that people or groups with carefully defined missions have always led and surpassed those who have none. Yet the process of outlining that mission statement has been, up to now, an arduous one that all too few have committed the time, energy, and resources to undertake.
In The Path, Laurie Beth Jones, author of the national bestseller Jesus CEO, provides inspiring and practical advice to lead listeners through every step of both defining and fulfilling a mission. With more than ten years' experience in assisting groups and individuals, Jones offers clear, step-by-step guidance that help you create a mission statement in a matter of hours rather than a month or years.
Rich with humor, exercises, and case histories, The Path is essential listening for anyone seeking a lighter, clearer way in the world.
In The Path, Laurie Beth Jones, author of the national bestseller Jesus CEO, provides inspiring and practical advice to lead listeners through every step of both defining and fulfilling a mission. With more than ten years' experience in assisting groups and individuals, Jones offers clear, step-by-step guidance that help you create a mission statement in a matter of hours rather than a month or years.
Rich with humor, exercises, and case histories, The Path is essential listening for anyone seeking a lighter, clearer way in the world.
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First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
July 24, 2018
Clarifying and illuminating. This is an EXCELLENT tool for anyone at a crossroads in life or seeking some direction.
It did lose some steam in the second half for me, otherwise it would have been a solid 5 stars.
It did lose some steam in the second half for me, otherwise it would have been a solid 5 stars.
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May 8, 2020pretty good lots of practical questions asked throughout the book
November 15, 2021
Everyone has a path they must find and follow. Laura Beth Jones takes you as reader on and introspective, deep self- work journey to the core of you. It’s a mess and challenging one but the reward is worth the work! The Path helped me meet myself- the real me and my mission.. so that I can live my life on purpose! This is one that I will revisit again and again as I continue to grow and discover more about me!
September 26, 2007
It's a definite. It really helped me figure out my mission. Like my goals in life, information on organizing your life and right now I find myself facing a career change for the upcoming year 2008. For now I just keep staying centered and focused and The Path has put a lot of things in perspective for me.
November 19, 2012
Skeptical at first because the author is openly Christian in her orientation, I got a lot from working through this book. Fourteen years later, I come upon the notes I made then and am reinspired in the work I'm doing now.
July 22, 2015
I wasn't impressed. There are far better books out there on this subject, and the attempt to "sanctify" her suggestions with the occasional reference to Jesus (often completely out of context) does not make it a Christian book. Go read something by Barna instead.
December 20, 2016
This was a book given to me earlier this year when I had recently lost my job and was unsure of the career path I wanted to follow. I am not always the most prompt person as evidenced by the fact that I am reading it six months later and have already figured out where I am heading, at least in the near-term.
That being said, even if I had read this book six months ago, I think my opinion of it would be the same. I have never been a "workbook" kind of reader. I want to read a book cover to cover, not stop every few pages to answer questions.
I also had some issues with Ms. Jones' characterization of several of the Biblical stories. She seemed to turn all these various miracles into things that the various Biblical actors did because they followed their "path" or various other things that she mentioned. (I will admit that because I was less than impressed with the book, I stopped paying detailed attention after a while.)
This book took me less than 40 minutes to read. There are over 200 pages. Text complexity this book does not have.
I do not recommend it.
That being said, even if I had read this book six months ago, I think my opinion of it would be the same. I have never been a "workbook" kind of reader. I want to read a book cover to cover, not stop every few pages to answer questions.
I also had some issues with Ms. Jones' characterization of several of the Biblical stories. She seemed to turn all these various miracles into things that the various Biblical actors did because they followed their "path" or various other things that she mentioned. (I will admit that because I was less than impressed with the book, I stopped paying detailed attention after a while.)
This book took me less than 40 minutes to read. There are over 200 pages. Text complexity this book does not have.
I do not recommend it.
April 16, 2020
This is a workbook kinda book, when a book requires me to be active, in more than just my thoughts, it is much harder for me to engage with. I think if I did the activities with a friend who knew me really well I could enjoy this. I also don't think I feel like I'm in a place in life where I can engage this. But as is, it was hard for me to engage with. I put it down halfway through. There might come a time where I'd like this. Would like to come back to it.
How I rate books:
5 Stars= I absolutely loved it, felt very moved. Extraordinary. I rarely give this rating.
4 Stars=
3 Stars= I enjoyed it but wasn't wowed. My most common rating
2 Stars=
1 Stars= The kind of book that I feel shouldn't have been published bc it might discourage some from becoming readers
How I rate books:
5 Stars= I absolutely loved it, felt very moved. Extraordinary. I rarely give this rating.
4 Stars=
3 Stars= I enjoyed it but wasn't wowed. My most common rating
2 Stars=
1 Stars= The kind of book that I feel shouldn't have been published bc it might discourage some from becoming readers
March 8, 2019
This book has been around for a long time and very useful for many years. The real beauty in this book is that when you are ready to hear what she has to say, it will make a huge impact in your life. If you are not ready for this message, you will likely skim through the book. It's packed with great questions so you have to really "chew" on this book. I finished reading it but still have responses to craft from the questions in the vision statement section. I'm thrilled my mission statement and now I need to do the leg work on making it happen and giving a vision to my future.
January 21, 2019
Honestly, I felt like the first 1/3 of this book was stellar - 4 stars. The other 2/3rds felt like filler so that it would be the length of a book...I actually feel like the Biblical stories would have been better served mixed in with the first 1/3 rather than having their own section. I just kind of went cross eyed reading them and it get how it was tied in, but it bores me to death. I could have stopped reading and been totally content after the first section.
July 3, 2020
I really enjoyed this book (especially as someone who is making a significant career swerve). I loved the workbook format and the opportunity to develop my own mission statement. Laurie Beth Jones did a great job dissecting some biblical and historical figures as they pursued their own missions. My only complaint was that a few of the biblical characters were not represented completely accurately. For this reason, I couldn’t give it 5 stars. It was still a great read!
February 21, 2025
I honestly personally enjoyed reading the first half of this book as I believe it was greatly inspiring and well encouraging, allowing me as a reader to question myself regarding my mission or what exactly I want to do. Nevertheless, as someone else was saying in the review, I agree that the second half was not something I expected, putting all those encouraging literature into a book of Christianity and beliefs.
October 22, 2018
I greatly enjoyed the first half of this book, which I found very thought-provoking and inspiring, with excellent exercises/"meditations" that I plan to work through thoroughly. The second half was a grind, as I simply do not enjoy biblical parables. Nonetheless, I do feel that this book has much wisdom to garner.
May 24, 2023
Fascinating, being underemployed, I could relate to the, "My job is not my Mission", false assumption mentioned in the book. It is a good book, there is a list of many verbs, following them will surely enliven on.
March 29, 2019
if you want to create your personal mission statement then this is the book that teaches you how to do it most effectively
June 12, 2020
once again, a great book for thinking about mission, vision, and moving forward.
September 9, 2020
Simple, but powerful step by step to find our "meaning" in our life😁.
January 12, 2025
I found her approach to be practical to helping me write a personal mission statement.
June 21, 2023
Brilliant. Would recommend to any professional
January 3, 2018
I'm almost 50% done with the book and I have alredy NEARLy written my life's mission statement. This has been an eye opening experience for me. Now,I am working on my vision statement. Great book. I highly recommend it!
Wow! What a great book. At Blissdom 2011, I attended a session with . In this session, Tami walked us through creating a mission statement (in a one hour session!!!). At the end, I felt pretty good about my satement, but ordered , as recommended by Tami. I wanted to revisit this in more detail when I could carefully consider my options.
Fast forward 1.5 yrs. Suprisingly, I never found time to read the book, or think anymore about my mission statement. A month or so ago, I was at a cross roads. I needed to close my blog and let go of that dream or I run with it. I decided to run.
Needing direction, I pulled out The Path and started reading. I did the exercises, had an introspective Pow Wows with my soul. I wrote, re-wrote, edited, whittled, sought council amoung my peers and mentors. Finally, I have a good solid, nearly-complete rough draft. Yea, me!!!
Like Ernest hemingway said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is down at a typewriter and bleed." Well said, Ernie.
I need to sleep on it for a few night before I finalize and publish, but I really like the results.
Interestingly, I pulled out my notes for Tami's session nearly two years ago. My mission statements are almost identical. No, I'm not kidding.
Wow! What a great book. At Blissdom 2011, I attended a session with . In this session, Tami walked us through creating a mission statement (in a one hour session!!!). At the end, I felt pretty good about my satement, but ordered , as recommended by Tami. I wanted to revisit this in more detail when I could carefully consider my options.
Fast forward 1.5 yrs. Suprisingly, I never found time to read the book, or think anymore about my mission statement. A month or so ago, I was at a cross roads. I needed to close my blog and let go of that dream or I run with it. I decided to run.
Needing direction, I pulled out The Path and started reading. I did the exercises, had an introspective Pow Wows with my soul. I wrote, re-wrote, edited, whittled, sought council amoung my peers and mentors. Finally, I have a good solid, nearly-complete rough draft. Yea, me!!!
Like Ernest hemingway said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is down at a typewriter and bleed." Well said, Ernie.
I need to sleep on it for a few night before I finalize and publish, but I really like the results.
Interestingly, I pulled out my notes for Tami's session nearly two years ago. My mission statements are almost identical. No, I'm not kidding.
August 8, 2011
I believe that it is good for people to know themselves, to know their strengths, and to find fulfillment in work that God has made them to do. It was a process like this that helped me surrender to my calling to ministry. However, there are several factors that keep this book from being ideal and they all stem from the fact that Laurie Beth Jones is trying to write a "Christian/spiritual" self-help book. (1)If she is going to use the Bible as a basis for points, that is fine, but her conclusions often seem forced. (2) Though she later hints at the idea that God is the One who calls a person to their mission, this is absent from her original discernment process. As one of my colleges stated, its as if we are to define our own mission and then ask God to bless it. (3) She shades into the "name it and claim it" camp. (4) Her use of Scripture reflects the overall feel of the book--using the Bible to make your point rather than the other way around. Still, there are some useful exercises in here for honing a knowledge of your gifts, but I feel like they have been better stated elsewere.
December 19, 2016
Best thing about this book is that you get to know your true mission in life (provided you are very frank with yourself).Secondly,the exercises help you to elaborate more about your problems and help them to solve it.
Must read for everyone :)
Must read for everyone :)
January 15, 2015
This was sort of required reading for a group. Although there were some interesting "exercises" in it, I pretty much hated it. Is the author a Christian? Because sometimes she sounds a little too New Agey/Buddhist/whatever. I didn't really get it. And the chapter about vision: the story about the women who envisioned a husband greeting her at the airport with champagne and flowers, and their recessed living room - and she ended up getting all those things? What?! That's just dumb. It came across as "If you believe it, you can receive/achieve it!" Where is God in that? Also the examples of people who'd fulfilled their missions were all people who'd done great things... what about us normal people? When it came to the end I was more confused about how to write a mission statement than helped.
May 12, 2008
This was painfully difficult, but helpful to me...
until I got to the question "What principle, cause, value, or purpose would you be willing to defend to the death, or devote your life to?"
Six months later.. after massive amounts of brainstorming, prayer, and frustration, I never got got further. Therefore, my "mission statement" (the purpose of this book) was never completed. I attempted to skip this question and fill it in later, but the next one "Whom are you here to help?" doesn't seem much more promising for me.
I'm not selling this book, just retiring it to my shelf for now.
I'm rather envious of the people who didn't find this impossible to honestly answer these questions. Maybe some day I'll figure it out.
until I got to the question "What principle, cause, value, or purpose would you be willing to defend to the death, or devote your life to?"
Six months later.. after massive amounts of brainstorming, prayer, and frustration, I never got got further. Therefore, my "mission statement" (the purpose of this book) was never completed. I attempted to skip this question and fill it in later, but the next one "Whom are you here to help?" doesn't seem much more promising for me.
I'm not selling this book, just retiring it to my shelf for now.
I'm rather envious of the people who didn't find this impossible to honestly answer these questions. Maybe some day I'll figure it out.
June 10, 2015
I only read the first half of this book and that is the part I'm giving four stars. I really enjoyed the activities and questions that led to the creation of a mission and vision statement. I found them very helpful and thought-provoking. The second part about fulfilling your mission is more about goal setting, something I am not as interested in so I plan to skip. Even though this book is written by a Christian, it can feel rather new age. Go in forewarned and skip the questions that make you feel uncomfortable but try to work through most of the questions. I think they are very helpful in evaluating the plan and purpose for your life.
May 24, 2010
A group of men that I meet with every two weeks decided to have our own little retreat and we used this book as the guide for much individual soul-searching, and the creation of individual life mission statements for ourselves. Unfortunately, we only allocated one day of about 6 hours to do so - I was the only one that was able to complete mine. This book is an excellent guide - but the most benefit will come from doing these mission statements as a group - so much to discuss and the group helps to focus you. An excellent resource.
August 13, 2007
Perlu dibaca oleh mereka yang sedang jenuh, kehilangan visi dan misi hidup, hingga hidup tidak lagi bergairah. Buku ini membantu pembaca menemukan jati diri, apa yang harusnya jadi tujuan hidup dan cara hidupnya. Dilengkapi dengan prangkat tes sederhana, pembaca bisa mengevaluasi sendiri pengalaman hidupnya. Semoga bekerja pun adalah salah satu panggilan hidup sekaligus ibadah bagi tiap orang yang selesai membaca buku ini.
September 14, 2012
Laurie Beth Jones has clearly explained in this book the need for a well-defined mission and clear vision for individuals and organizations.
She has also shown the Path. Her step-by-step guidance for developing the Mission and Vision statements for life is invaluable.
She has also clearly indicated the possible pitfalls and potholes that could detract us from our Path, so that we may easily avoid them.
I would unhesitatingly say that divine guidance flows through this book.
She has also shown the Path. Her step-by-step guidance for developing the Mission and Vision statements for life is invaluable.
She has also clearly indicated the possible pitfalls and potholes that could detract us from our Path, so that we may easily avoid them.
I would unhesitatingly say that divine guidance flows through this book.
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January 22, 2016Provides excellent inspiration and the best excercises and structure I have experienced for writing a clear, brief and focused statement.
I like applying the Hudson concept of "life chapters" to the life mission/purpose statement. Life mission seems so final and absolute wherein a life chapter provides focus and keeps the mystery and joy of the unfolding life journey central.
New Year or close to your birthday is a great time to visit and re-visit the process.
Enjoy!
I like applying the Hudson concept of "life chapters" to the life mission/purpose statement. Life mission seems so final and absolute wherein a life chapter provides focus and keeps the mystery and joy of the unfolding life journey central.
New Year or close to your birthday is a great time to visit and re-visit the process.
Enjoy!
February 4, 2009
The best thing about this book was her encouragement to make mission statements understandable by 12-year-olds and memorizable by everyone in the organization. I have been creating mission statements based on that and finding it's not as hard as I thought it would be.
I wasn't interested in the Biblical character profiles -- it was just a way to make this business book into a Christian book.
I wasn't interested in the Biblical character profiles -- it was just a way to make this business book into a Christian book.
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