I was a young teenager when my dad began the process of sharing some of his deepest, innermost views on life. I liked it when he would “get philosophical” with me because underlying each conversation was an understanding that I could be trusted with his tender, inner-sanctum thoughts.

Some of our conversations were prompted by my homework assignments and poetry frequently pole vaulted us into lofty thinking. I have great memories of perching on the arm of Dad’s recliner, reading meaty stanzas of Longfellow or Tennyson and exchanging thoughts on what each of us believed the poets were attempting to convey.

Although Dad and I frequently interpreted poems differently, Dad’s attention to my musings and heady conclusions indicated I possessed thoughts worth hearing. I felt infinitely valued.

One particular conversation occurred, as I recall, at the kitchen table. His words quietly yet forcefully enter my thoughts today: Focus your greatest efforts on developing in yourself things that nobody can ever take away from you. Like knowledge. Character. Dignity. Strength. Faith.

Stephen Covey, best-selling author and national speaker, deals with this foundational life stuff in his book, “First Things First.” He builds his thinking around the notion that people, like successful businesses, should take the time to develop a mission statement if they hope to reach their potential and find their true place in the world.

A mission statement, he explains, is much more than goals. It is not a “must-do” list. Neither should it be a statement that includes your dream to own a home with a view, your hope to one day write a novel or raise well-adjusted children. It is meant to help you clarify your most foundational values and beliefs. The process will prompt you to ask yourself some fairly deep questions: What is fundamentally important to me? What universal principles, if any, govern my behavior and thinking processes? What is my life all about? What is most important to me — above and beyond anything or anyone else?

Picture your own funeral, Covey encourages his readers. How will friends, co-workers, and family members describe you? What legacy will you have passed on?

Covey writes that Americans spend so much time putting out fires and focusing on the urgent but unimportant, that ultimately we experience little human growth. We worry about meeting the schedule of the day, but rarely if ever think about incorporating activities that will best serve our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits.

Interestingly enough, a mission statement, Covey points out, gives each of us the courage to say no. If a request for our time and energy does not fit into our scheme of things, then it may be an activity that is right for someone else.

I get most excited about the concept of developing a personal mission statement because it begins to explain why a whole lot of us look for a relationship with God and actively work to incorporate faith into our daily lives.

To produce a mission statement, begin to define yourself on the most basic of levels by discovering some explanations to questions like, Where do I come from? Why am I wired the way I am? What am I to do with this life of mine? How can I know the one who made me? How can I find joy when life events bring into my life events that seem unfair, untimely, tragic, or exhausting?

This fundamental need for plausible answers and explanations leads millions around the world to Jesus Christ. With a mission statement built on knowledge of and experience with Christ, you can live with a sense of value and purpose.

And nobody can ever take those things away from you.