Constraints make us focus. The less we have to work with, the more creative we have to be.
So, can you sum up your entire outlook on life in a few words?
Okay how about a short sentence?
Whether you call it a tagline, a mantra, or just some words – the idea is to use the advantage of constraints to capture you in as few words as possible.
What’s The Point…?
To give you a starting point. Goals, values, passions – all these things help drive us. They shape the way we live, the choices we make, and the paths we follow. They are extremely important to know, because they will impact your life, whether you are aware of them or not. You have been living according to your tagline, even if you didn’t know it. You just haven’t named it yet.
It’s also real. Remember, Yugo had the tagline “Everybody needs a Yugo sometime.” Apparently that wasn’t the case. Your tagline should represent you at your best – but not something you’re not, never have been, or never will be.
Power-Phrase
With a single tagline to sum up your view on life, you have a true power-phrase. You create a symbol or an abbreviation for your goals, values, passions, and view-point. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something others will understand when you say it. It’s not for marketing purposes or to attract VC’s – it’s for you.
A word is not the thing it represents. You can’t eat the word “honey,” (unless it’s made out of something edible). “Honey” is a word that represents the sweet goodness of the actual stuff.
That’s what your personal tagline should be – a representation of the greatness that is you.
BTW (‘cuz I know you’re going to ask 
) – I’ve had the same tagline for a least 10 years – “My life, my terms.”
That’s an easy one, T:
“IT’S ALL GOOD!”
Shane
I’ve never tried to come up with a tag line for myself……..I really like yours!
Great question. I’ve blogged about mine a little or at least portions of it. But in its entirety —
Gratitude. Grace. Give.
Thanks for asking,
Drew
This is funny to read right now. I’m about to launch my new website, and along with it, a whole new blog. And I had to think long and hard about a tagline and what I really wanted to convey to the world. It was challenging! (Maybe I’ll just settle for “everybody needs a Yugo sometime!”)
Shane – Nice one. I like it.
Anthony – Thanks. If you don’t find one you like, I’ll share ๐
Drew – Perfect. I think it represents you well.
Christine – I know what you mean. Trying to capture so much with so little can be challenging. Instead of the old Yugo one, you could go with “Yugo Girl” (get it you-Go girl. Okay, that was bad ๐ )
Yet another great post from Tony!
I actually alter my tagline every few weeks because they reflect my constantly changing moods and situations.
Today I changed it to:
Taking 100% of what’s mine, and keeping the change.
I know it makes no sense but it perfectly underlines my current situation.
Tony, this is an interesting challenge. It was the last bit that threw me: “A representation of the greatness that is you.”
I’ve been doing a lot of changing over the past few years and a phrase I keep coming back to is, “A work in progress.” But that seems a little too negative. How about, “A good work, in progress.”
Surely any determination to change and grow can be viewed as a measure of “greatness.”
Now, I think I’ll go and have a lie down…
Oooh Christine’s got a new site coming! (No wonder her web guy is stressed!) Can’t wait to see it.
My tag line is easy. It’s how I sign 90% of my emails.
Enjoy!
Alex – That’s a great approach. The idea that it changes to fit your situation makes a lot of sense.
Rory – I agree, growth and change ARE signs of greatness. As long as it fits you and your view of greatness, that’s what’s important. No one else has to get it. FWIW, I like รขโฌลA good work, in progress.รขโฌย
Chris – Yea, now all the Web guy stress makes sense ๐ As a sucker for brevity, I thought my 4-word tagline was good. Then Shane and Drew had 3. Now you have just one. Anyone have “!” for a tagline, or maybe “&” …?
Tony,
Great concept for a post that makes people dig deep and see what drives ’em! In the past, this type of question would have made smoke start coming from my ears, but I’ve really fine-tuned my efforts, and I actually have 2 tag lines that mean the same thing, and both can be found all over my website:
“Create Life in YOUR Image”
“YOU are in charge of your life, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!”
Both “you” centric, I know, but I live my life the same way, so it’s…ummm… all good? ๐
What a concept! It’s a great exercise, can’t wait to tell my marketing cronies. My first reaction for mine, “Peace”. Thanks Tony.
hhhmmm, Tony, that’s a hard one. Just one tagline, huh? I, personally, do not think that I could settle for one but, as I read this (creative) post, I was inclined to imagine a tagline for the moment and the first thing that came to mine was….
…happily ever after
Aaron – That’s great. Knowing what it means to you is what gives it the power. The fact that you live your life in a way that matches your tagline, helps show that it fits.
Brad – Peace is a great tagline to live by.
Scott – It’s a challenge to distill it down, I know. The idea is to get you thinking. If it feels right, then it works. So if “happily ever after” came to mind, and fits you, then that’s a good one.
I enjoyed your post because I had to stop and think and I came up with some nice fancy quips but realized that missed the point. So I gave up thinking and listened to my heart. My tag line – What you give out comes back
Tony – now I have to actually think – thanks a lot! ๐
I feel like there are so many aspects of me and what I do, I find it difficult to find one phrase that captures it all.
Off to think some more.
Peter – Very well put. Listening to your heart is a good way to find what the head can miss.
Char – I’m glad I got you thinking! Having to distill everything down to a single phrase, gets you really mulling over who you are. Learning more about yourself, is a nice by-product of the exercise.
My motto is: รขโฌลLook for the Second Right Answer.รขโฌย
I find that this strategy informs a lot of what I do.
* When I’m looking for information, it tells me to go beyond the right answers that have worked in the past and to dig for others.
* When I’m trying to be creative, it playfully advises me to put my ideas in unusual contexts to give them new meanings.
* When I’m evaluating concepts, it implores me not to get stuck in the negative and to not fall in love with one particular approach.
* And, when I’m implementing ideas, it reminds me that if one way doesn’t work, a different one just might and to act accordingly.
My personal tagline, eh? Well, I think it should be:
Have faith, be good, for everyone’s good.
Hey Tony,
I guess mine would be “Daring to be me, daring to go against the crowd”
Roger – I like that strategy. I think we’re trained to think that the first answer is the correct one. The thing is it may not be the ONLY one. Cool concept.
John – Being able to see the good in everyone is a great approach to have, in business and in life.
Kian Ann – Spoken like a true entrepreneur ๐ It fits you well.
Conceive, Believe, and Achieve!
That’s easy. The words are in large print above my workdesk and have been for years:
“This one thing I do.”
The quote comes from Paul’s letter to the Philippians (in the Bible) and is more complex than that simple bold statement but I won’t give a sermon here.
Just suffice to say that it’s about focus. Life throws far too many things at me – all of us I suspect – that we need to have one focus point in our lives. A scatter-gun approach may work sometimes and for some people. I need to focus. It’s the only way I stay true to myself and my calling in life.
My unofficial tag line is Learn, Absorb and Share.
In this day and age of unprecedented access to information from a variety of sources must be coupled with a pause. I have found that I must take that pause before forming my own opinions and definitely before I share them with my readers at Modern Musings http://www.taureandevi.blogspot.com
I found your site through Mybloglog.
I am sending you wishes of health, balance and joy to you and yours.
Danielle a.k.a. taureandevi
Great post and conversation! This may not be my tagline, but it is something I borrowed from Ram Das and I keep it on my white board in my office. “How may I serve?” This helps me stay focused on my purpose and how I can provide value to people.
I have another that keeps me going: health, happiness, success.
Mine must be Cheerful Monk, since that phrase resonates deep within me every time I use it.
check out mine….
“I drink when I’m unhappy, therefore I don’t drink!”
-Patrick
just popped in my head lol
so what do you guys think?
๐