Scripting · “You Assign the Meaning”
Writing Your Vision
Get away from distraction and answer a fixed sequence of identity-and-purpose questions in writing, then distil the answers into a one-sentence personal vision plus its motivation, principles, goals and resources — turning a vague sense of purpose into a written, decision-guiding document.
Get somewhere quiet and write: Who am I? Why am I here? (purpose statement) → What would I do even unpaid? (one-sentence vision) → How does it help others? (motivation) → your principles, your goals + timeline, your resources/strengths/weaknesses, and a commitment to follow through. Keep it to a specific sentence, revisit it often, and run decisions through it.
What it is
Myles Munroe taught that everyone carries a specific purpose, and that the way to recover it is not to wait for inspiration but to sit down, away from distraction, and answer a fixed set of questions in writing — then distil the answers into a single clear sentence.
His book The Principles and Power of Vision runs the reader through a sequence: Who am I? Why am I here? What do I want to do with my life — even if I were never paid for it? How does this help others? From there you name your guiding principles, set concrete goals, and inventory the resources you’ll need.
The output is a written vision document — purpose statement plus one-sentence vision, motivation, principles, goals and resources — meant to be revisited and used to steer daily decisions. It operationalises identity-precedes-circumstance (The Inner Creates the Outer): you write who you are and what you are for first, and let action follow.
The Method
A faithful rendering of Munroe’s vision-writing sequence (his questions paraphrased; the structure is his):
- Eliminate distractions. “Sit down somewhere by yourself, away from any distractions and responsibilities,” and give yourself uninterrupted time to think. Munroe makes the quiet a precondition.
- Find your true self — write your purpose. Answer the foundational questions in writing: Who am I? Why am I here? Then write a short personal purpose statement — your reason for being, as best you can state it now.
- Find your true vision. Ask what you would do with your life even if you were never paid for it. Capture what genuinely inspires you, then summarise your vision in a single sentence — specific and vivid, not a paragraph of vagueness.
- Discover your true motivation. Test it against others: How does this vision help or uplift people? Munroe insists a genuine vision “is never selfish” — it improves others’ lives — so an honest answer here both validates and refines it.
- Identify your principles. Write the standards you will live by — your “philosophy of life” — the non-negotiables that govern how you pursue the vision.
- Choose goals and objectives. Break the vision into concrete goals with practical steps and a timeline — the staircase from where you are to the vision.
- Identify your resources. List what you’ll need: the people, support, and means, plus an honest note of your strengths and the weaknesses you must address.
- Commit — and revisit. Make a firm written commitment to follow through, and return to the document regularly to renew and refine it; it is meant to evolve, not sit in a drawer. (Sourcing note: short phrases in quotes are attributed to Munroe’s vision teaching; the numbered protocol is a faithful paraphrase, not a reproduction of the book.)
Source & Lineage
Myles Munroe (1954-2014) set this out in The Principles and Power of Vision (2003), one of his bestselling works, where each chapter ends with practical assignments that walk the reader through these questions.
The teaching joins his Kingdom-principles theology (a God-implanted purpose to be recovered) to the twentieth-century leadership and goal-setting literature he drew on.
The Traditions' versions
The deep move — clarify your “end,” write it down, let it govern daily choices — is shared across success and self-development literature; Munroe’s signature is the purpose-question sequence framed as recovering a God-given destiny, with the explicit “a real vision is never selfish” test: - Covey’s personal mission statement — same “begin with the end in mind,” but accessed via the funeral/eulogy imagery rather than Munroe’s direct purpose questions.
- Hill’s definite chief aim — write one dominant aim and concentrate on it; success-literature ancestor.
- Goals with soul (LaPorte) — start from how you want to feel, then set goals to match.
- Best possible self (Lyubomirsky) — the validated psychology version: write a vivid picture of your best future self.
Common refinements
Brainstorming in your head. The method only works on paper; the writing is what forces clarity and commitment.
- A vague, paragraph-long “vision.” Munroe’s discipline is the one specific sentence; if you can’t compress it, you haven’t found it yet.
- Skipping goals and resources. Vision without concrete goals, timeline, and an honest resource/weakness inventory stays a daydream.
- Writing it once and shelving it. It is a living document — revisit and run real decisions through it, or it does nothing.
- Treating the statement as self-executing. Clarity organises action; it does not replace it.