Mission vs. Agenda

Flickr Image: Another New York corner

I just got back from my brother’s amazing wedding in NYC where I picked up a wonderful new sister-in-law and a little sage advice.

While at the reception I had a profound conversation with an old family friend. I asked about his flight, knowing he had run into a few snafus along the way. He smiled and said, “The flight was fine, I am just so happy to be here.”  I replied, “but what about the rain and the flight delay that must have been frustrating?” I shared stories of other family and friends who endured endless lines and missed flights due to the persistent showers. His wise response, “I had a mission, not an agenda.” He shared that he had adopted this motto as a rule for living. He explained that people who have a mission don’t get lost in the minutia or less than perfect circumstances. They are not motivated by ego and are not trying to please other people’s agendas — they are focused on their mission. As he was talking I could just picture him calmly and patiently waiting for the long overdue airplane to arrive while his flying companions were standing in line annoyed and aggravated and possibly even yelling a few expletives at a ground crew that could do little to make the plane arrive any faster.  Clearly their circumstances were getting in the way of their nicely planned agenda.

This exchange was one of those moments in life when I was given the exact words I needed to hear, “I have a mission, not an agenda.” So often when launching a new endeavor we get caught up in the agenda of the day or, worse, someone else’s agenda for us, and we loose sight of our purpose.  His words to me serve as an important reminder to all entrepreneurs to not get distracted by the details, but rather stay the course and focus on the mission — your mission!