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February 21, 2010

My Mission and Values

This week in my Business, Entrepreneurship and Ethics class here at CCA, we've been asked to write a personal mission statement. That sounds easy, maybe even fun, right? Not if you're me.

Now there is no place to hide, because I, ladies and gentlemen, am a Freak.

Up to this point, I've reaped the benefits of appearing like I knew what I was doing. Here's where I will try to put the truth into words and be forced–finally–into observing what a confusing mess my life and goals really are. I'm actually not a freak, but I am what personality experts call a Synthesist.

What this means is that I have been going in many different directions all at once, for as far back as I care to remember. Some might say, throwing a bunch of dookie at the wall to see what will stick. Also, I have done quite well with this. But just to be clear, it's not a strategy per se, as much as a mental illness. I may be a little too close to the subject to be the best judge, but this whole business of asking someone like me to codify a personal mission statement seems just a bit on the cruel side.

Creative types often find it difficult to define their mission because ultimately what drives them is the ability to play with pure ideas, unencumbered by the goal or outcome. They want to make cool things that stimulate other cool things. It's a bit like a scientist who just wants to keep experimenting and allow the inquiry to lead the way. This form of play has encouraged me to get into many different forms of creative expression, and I think I am still on the path of learning about what it all means, or how–or if–to put it all together.

I have a decent career as a Creative Director. I have enjoyed it and I feel that I will probably remain on that path. But when I think about my mission statement, my career doesn't play into it so much.

I have a lot of missions, and some of them are at odds with one another. They intersect, sure. Most of them are distinctly separate things which inform one another. If you told me I had one year to live, I'd want to make another album of songs, and then I'd probably spend the rest of my time with my family. I love making art and music, and I would love to have a career doing that somehow. But in the meantime, I will keep being all over the place, trying to make a living in this profession, and trying to be a true artist in the margins between responsbility and life.

Posted by dsr at February 21, 2010 06:10 PM