I Want to Rock ‘n’ Roll All Night! … Never Mind, I Gotta Work Tomorrow

Creating Your Best DNA Motto

Walk your talk. To live fully, use a motto to make the talk walkable.

If you’ve been working through your Best DNA over these last few posts, congrats! You’re getting ready to put it all together in your Best DNA Motto.

(If you haven’t yet completed the Best DNA brainstorm sessions, they are definitely worth checking out, and don’t take too long. Click here to check out the Passion, Strengths, Value Add, Principles and Purpose brainstorms.)

A Motto is a memorable phrase that makes it easier to guide your life by your Best DNA. The words that make up your Motto can help you figure out what kind of work you want to do, who you want to work with, and how you want to spend your free time. Once you determine your Motto, you can evaluate how everything in your life syncs up.

Some people live by their own personal mottos: “Down with the Establishment”, “Life’s Too Short to Deal With Jerks”, “You Only Live Once (YOLO)”, “Eat More Bacon”. But what you want is a Motto that doesn’t get you put in jail, fired from your job, kicked out by your spouse, or really high cholesterol.

Mottos may change over time. For example, my Motto about 30 years ago is far different than my Motto today. As a teenager, my motto may have been, “Whatever gets you through the night.” (Maybe that’s still your motto if you have obnoxious neighbors or a new baby. Hey, I’m not judging.)

The great news is that once you create your Best DNA Motto, you will find that you tend to do more activities—small and large—that will have a big role in building your ideal future.

I once worked with a leader named Wendy Schroeder, helping her discover her Best DNA and then she did the same process with her team. Afterward they all shared their Mottos with one another, and soon Wendy started to notice a shift in the culture. The members of her team began volunteering for activities that fit their mottos, and getting more enthusiastic about their work. Not only were they taking care of tasks without her having to tell them what to do, but they were also working on their weaknesses by getting help from their coworkers, based on each person’s Motto.

Our Best DNA is as unique as fingerprints, so our Mottos will be as well. And like anything else in this Best DNA Assessment, you can change it over time. I have. When I first created my personal motto I was 24 and reading a book on Purpose. I decided that my motto was “Guide positive change,” but as my career evolved I realized that I liked to energize it, not just guide it. Then I decided that transformation was more powerful than change to me. Today my Motto is, “Energizing positive transformation.” It thrills me to even say it. You will probably find something totally different equally compelling.

Let’s get started! (Follow these steps or get help using the coupon code at the end.)

In creating your motto you’ll start with your Core Purpose. (Many people find it easy to work from there, as they often tend to be similar.) Follow the Purpose directions here. It should align with your personal Principles, play to your Strengths, and guide you in Adding more Value.
I encourage you to limit your motto to 2 to 5 words to make sure it’s memorable. It only works if it’s top of mind. Your Motto should motivate you, inspire you, and bring clarity to your mind. It doesn’t have to mean anything special to other people.
Write compelling words from any part of your Best DNA. Quickly create 3 or more potential mottos without editing.
Then choose the motto you like the best! Treat this as your version 1.0. It doesn’t have to be perfect! It just has to be good enough for now. You can always fine-tune it later.

Next month we’ll talk about how to use your Motto to live into your Best DNA. And I would love to hear your feedback on Mottos. Just comment below.

In the meantime, visit BestDNA.com to learn more. Use the coupon code “MOTTO” for 50% off a guided Best DNA Assessment for the month of September.