I’m The Real Jason Duncan, back with your weekly Beyond the Grind blog, where we help entrepreneurs like you build thriving businesses without sacrificing your freedom. 🚀

I recently talked about my Year of Jubilee—a year of resetting, restoring, and reclaiming what God has in store for me.

And part of that reset? A renewed commitment to my personal mission statement.

I didn’t always have a mission statement. In fact, I spent years just assuming I knew what my core values were.

But in 2020, that changed.

At the end of 2019, my wife, Kristie, gave me a Christmas gift that would be much more important than I thought at first glance—a deck of cards from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

I’d always been interested in personal growth, but something about this gift hit me differently.

I decided right then that I wasn’t just going to skim through them.

I was going to make it a personal challenge: every week of 2020, I’d pull a new card, study it, apply its lesson to my life, and record a video sharing what I learned.

I had no idea how much that decision would shape my life.

Week after week, I immersed myself in Covey’s principles, but one concept hit me harder than anything else: the need for a personal mission statement.

Covey describes a personal mission statement as your life’s constitution. It’s what keeps you from drifting. It’s what helps you prioritize.

It’s what ensures that the life you build is one you actually want to live.

And when I looked at my life, I realized something:

• I had built a business, but I hadn’t defined what I actually stood for.
• I had goals, but I had never written down who I wanted to be, outside of just "successful."
• I had values, but I had never made them my North Star.

So I wrote my first personal mission statement.

Why You Need a Personal Mission Statement

I can tell you from experience—if you don’t define your life’s mission, someone else will do it for you.

A mission statement keeps you from making decisions that pull you away from what truly matters.

It forces you to get clear on what you believe, what you stand for, and where you’re going.

It’s a filter for decision-making. When you know your mission, you stop saying yes to things just because they seem good—you only say yes to what’s truly aligned.

I can’t tell you how many business deals I’ve walked away from because they didn’t fit my mission.

How many relationships I’ve let go of because they didn’t match my values.

How much peace of mind I’ve gained by knowing exactly who I am and what I’m about.

So, let me ask you—do you have a personal mission statement?

If not, I want to help you build one.

How to Write Your Own Mission Statement

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be true.

Here’s a simple framework to get you started:

1. Define Your Core Values – What are the principles that guide your life?
2. Clarify Your Purpose – What are you called to do? What impact do you want to have?
3. Write It in the Present Tense – A mission statement isn’t about what you hope to be—it’s about who you are and who you are becoming.
4. Make It Personal – Forget business buzzwords. This is about you.
5. Refine and Revisit – Your mission evolves as you do. Keep it updated.

I’d love for you to check out my full personal mission statement—not because it’s the perfect model, but because I want you to see what happens when you put your mission into words. When you take the time to clarify what matters most, it changes everything.

👉 Read my full personal mission statement here and let me know—what part resonates with you the most?

My Year of Jubilee—A Mission Renewed

This year isn’t just about reflecting—it’s about recommitting.

That’s why I’m declaring this my year to fully step into my mission with renewed energy, focus, and passion.

This year, I’m committed to…

✅ Giving families their dads and moms back. I started The Exiter Club to help entrepreneurs break free from the daily grind so they could finally spend time with the people who matter most. This year, I’m doubling down on that mission.

✅ Expanding The Exiter Club—our membership tripled in 2024, and in 2025 I want to double it again. Not for numbers' sake, but because I know that the more entrepreneurs we help, the more lives we change.

✅ Radical generosity. I believe wealth is a tool for impact, not just personal gain. One of my biggest goals this year is to give away $100 per day—and eventually, $1,000 per day—as an act of spectacular generosity.

✅ Living with full energy and intention. I feel like I’m in my 30s, and I plan to keep it that way. This means prioritizing my health, my faith, and my family above all else.

But this isn’t just about me.

I want you to step into your own mission, too.

What About You?

I’d love to hear from you:

👉 Do you already have a personal mission statement? If so, has it helped guide your decisions?
👉 If not, what would your mission statement include?

Let me know—I read every response.

Let’s make sure you have a vision that leads you to true freedom.

Next Up: The Deep Dive

Next, I’m going deeper.

I’m breaking down my personal mission statement line by line to show you exactly why I wrote it the way I did—and how you can craft yours with the same level of clarity and conviction.

If you’ve ever wondered how to write a mission statement that actually means something, don’t miss it.

Go beyond the grind,
The Real Jason Duncan 🚀