***The Business Vision Statement You’re Not Really Living

I was interviewing John Yokoyama, owner of the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market, on my weekly talk radio show. It’s widely known that people come from all over the world to watch the fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle as they toss fish to each other. They are drawn to the Fish Market because of the fun, playful, boisterous and connecting environment that the fishmongers have created. From the moment you first step into the market you are instantly greeted by the Pike Place Fish Market energy. I was a little uncertain as to what to expect from my guest, John Yokoyama. Our previous conversations with each other had been brief and to the point as we discussed logistics about the upcoming radio show. But as John began speaking, I felt a surge of excitement. He had such deep passion and heartfelt conviction that I was instantly won over. I asked him how he had supported his crew in creating such a lively and engaging workplace. “Leslie, at Pike Place Fish Market the entire crew has made a commitment to making a world famous difference to EVERY customer that walks through the door. And as the owner I have made a commitment to making a world famous difference to each and every one of my employees. See, many businesses look at the success that we’ve created and are eager to study how we’ve done that. They think it’s all about choosing our attitude, having fun, playing and making our customers’ day. But the way we consciously choose how to show up for our customers occurs as a natural result of the commitment we’ve made to living our vision of making a world famous difference and creating world peace for every customer and vendor that we come into contact with.” The Pike Place Fish Market expresses and lives by a higher vision and purpose, no different than the visions of Gandhi, Martin Luther King or even Kennedy when he declared that we would put a man on the moon within a decade. When a business or individual makes a commitment to a compelling vision and takes on a greater context, like making a powerful difference in the world, they are called to show up in an entirely different way, a way that makes a significant and meaningful impact on clients, customers and communities. Entrepreneurs and business owners are often pulled off center by the stress and daily demands they face such as the details of running their businesses, marketing and struggling to make enough money. By taking on a higher purpose and exciting future for your business AND your life, you can up-level your life in a more powerful way. But it needs to be a larger purpose that is created by you - not some dull, stuffy, neatly written mission statement that you write and then forget about. I’m talking about the kind of purpose that has you jumping out of bed with excitement about going to work. And here’s a very huge key; once you commit to that purpose it truly is a matter of making a choice every day, and several times a day of “being and living” your vision. I shared with one of my clients that taking on a larger vision for their business really is a about a place to come from, not a place to get to. In other words, John Yokoyama had to come from rather than get to the place of being “world famous with his staff and customers.” Because he was showing up in a world famous way, Pike Place Fish Market became world famous. By tapping into your own powerful innovation and creativity and taking on a powerful, compelling future like the one that guides the Pike Place Fish Market, you too can have unprecedented, extraordinary, break-through results happening as a regular occurrence in your business and your life.