So I asked the following question on my Facebook Fan Page this past week...
In 3 words, come up with a tagline that defines the journey you are on. It should embody exactly what you are attempting to do.
That prompted 128 amazing responses. I will share 50 of the most awesome ones below, but before I do, I'm going to delve into a concept called...
The power of 3...
There is something mystical about things being bundled into groups of 3. In fact, it’s no accident that the number three is pervasive throughout some of our greatest stories, fairy tales and myths.
There were the 3 wise men mentioned in the Bible.
When you talk about comedy you can't help but mention the 3 Stooges: Larry, Curly and Moe. I have it on good authority that these were also the names of the 3 wise men, but I have been known to mix up my facts so take the with a grain of salt. 
Many of our classic bedtime stories make reference to the number 3. There are...
- the 3 little pigs
- the 3 blind mice
- Goldilocks and the 3 bears.
Movies and the rule of 3...
The clever ones in Hollywood understand just how powerful the rule of 3 is as well.
It is why all movie scripts are written as 3 act plays.
Great movies use the rule of 3 to capture the essence of their story
- Sleepless in Seattle
- Meet the Parents
- Shakespeare in love
And Robin Williams taught his students this now famous motivational saying in the movie Dead Poet's Society-->also 3 words...
- Seize the day
The art of funny...
Most people may not realize this, but comedians use this rule A LOT in their comedy.
A good comedian understands how our primitive mind works and exploits the way it perceives expected patterns in order to throw us off...or in their case, make us laugh.
Look how Jon Stewart from The Daily Show uses it in this joke...
I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.
Brilliant authors use it too...
New York Times best selling author Jim Collins adheres to this rule repeatedly in the titles of his books, which have sold over 8 million copies.
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Elizabeth Gilbert used this strategy VERY effectively with her best selling book...
And best selling author Tim Ferris has used the rule of 3 in both subtitles of his first two New York Times Best Selling books...
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In The 4 Hour Work Week (this first book), he capitalized on the power of 3 by using the phrases...
- Escape 9 to 5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
In The 4 Hour Body, Ferris cleverly used the exact same strategy...
- An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman
Recognizing genius...
The examples above illustrate deliberate acts of genius.
In each case, the rule was applied knowing that humans have an affinity for the number 3; that somehow words, ideas or concepts bundled together in groups of three are able to activate a deep-rooted psychological positive trigger embedded in our subconscious.
In plain English: the brain finds it relatively easy to grasp the concept of threes causing us to act favorably in response to the trigger.
As such, it might mean buying the book. It might mean seeing the movie. It might mean having a strong emotional connection to those people who use such tactics (ie Martin Luther King effectively used the power of 3 in most of his speeches).
Here is a perfect example to illustrate the point. One of the most effective marketing campaigns ever done in history, was done so by Nike. You know where I am going with this right?. What is their famous tagline? JUST DO IT!
Being Primal connection...
The rule of 3 is powerful!! So powerful in fact that I have adopted my own rule of 3. It's the tagline on this site...
MAKE SHI(F)T HAPPEN
It's no accident by the way that my tagline is 3 words long. You see, I have been studying this idea now for some time (the rule of 3) because I have begun to see it everywhere (as stated by some of the examples above).
And while I didn't invent the idea, I have yet to see anyone take the concept and apply it to personal transformation in an attempt to help people make some serious shift happen.
That's where my gift lies. I'm able to take someone else's brilliant idea (I have none of my own) and find extensions of use that others fail to see.
Me and the power of 3...
So lets take a look at at the role MAKE SHI(F)T HAPPEN plays in my life.
It is the TAGLINE FOR THE NEW LIFE I have begun to carve out for myself. Everything I now do, the blog posts I write, the videos I make, the podcasts I record are all geared towards helping you make shift happen in your life.
It acts as an anchor (a positive trigger) to ensure I stay true to those things that help others make shift happen. For example, I seem to be getting pitched more and more ideas now that the blog is growing in popularity. My mantra allows me to quickly disregard ideas that might be focused more on money than shift.
I use it to help me recover. When I do drift off course, I find that reconnecting with this anchor allows me to recover quite effortlessly now.
It is the phrase I repeat to myself when I find fear of failure is preventing me from taking the RISKS I intuitively know I need to take. When I find myself spinning my wheels, I use this as my way to align myself with my invented future. It acts as a positive trigger to get me to act on those things I know I must to make shift happen.
Putting the power of 3 to work for you...
So how do you put this to work for you.
Well first, you need to recognize that this is a really powerful tool you can add to your Paleo tool box to help you on your journey to transform how you look.
Understanding what makes you tick and how to influence that behavior is MASSIVE! But you need to act on it.
So here are a few keys to coming up with a powerful and highly effective personal trigger (mantra, tagline).
- It needs to make a strong call to action (at least one verb IN THE PRESENT TENSE)
- It needs to be something that inspires you (would you put it on a t-shirt?)
- It needs to apply across multiple disciplines (meaning it applies when assessing a relationship, job opportunity or health issue)
- It needs to represent a vision of your invented future; but something that seems impossible at the moment.
I have listed some real examples below to get you started on creating your own. DO NOT STEAL SOMEONE ELSE'S even if you love it. Make this uniquely your own.
50 Examples...
- Body Strengthens Mind-Tom Reyes
- Key is Me-Susan Cullison
- Putting myself first!-Jo Ann Capp Huston
- Fear is Useless-Kristyn Wesdorp Wosneski
- Enjoying the Journey-Michelle Ducote
- Saving my life-Emily Miller Ordlock
- Health for LIFE!-Ali Hallam
- Never too late-Monika Breece
- Empowering my body-Beth Watt
- Meeting my potential-Stacey Bennett
- Eatin It Real-CaveLady Lifestyle
- Lean.strong.vibrant-Kim Greene Frazier
- Happy Healthy Strong-Amanda Reid
- All's Not Lost!!! Manda Spot
- S.A.D. is BAD-Steve Bonfante
- Wide Load Narrowing-Maria Bontempo-Brennan
- Never give up-Rhoda Dorsey
- Stop Being Cattle-Patricia Prim
- Back to Nature-Naturally - It's A Breeze
- Do Epic Shi(f)t!-Ryan Heeter
- Push my limits!-Jennifer Smallwood
- No more fear-Sara Widboom
- Figuring it out! Jessica DeAntonio Dipasquale
- Be the change-Andria Rose
- Happy, Healthy, Whole-Rachel Maria Cullar
- Believing in me!!!Rachael Kneisly
- Eat Play Live-Karina Micomonaco
- Strength. In progress-Denise Cross
- Finding my way-Marilyn Klucher Schmid
- Keep moving forward-Mark Huff
- Set the example-Jennifer Nuno
- Working the sledgehammer-Jerry Brimer
- Strong, Focused, Satisfied-Steve N Cheryl Valentine
- Faster. Farther. Stronger-Sonia Martinez Ardeel
- I'M IN CONTROL! Audra's Foodtopia
- Putting Myself First! (for once in my life) Megan Regal
- Lose the Fat-Sallie Nelson
- Eat. Sleep. CrossFit-Dana Pionk
- Breaking my limits-Tangie Prieskorn
- Sustain, then gain-Linnell Addis Gribble
- Better than yesterday-Derek Mouriz
- Keep it REAL!!! Dana Woodard Fowler
- Resolved. Unshakable. Thriving! Not a bad R.U.T. to get stuck in! Mike McGrail
- Prolonging quality life-Steve Willhoite
- Living with Sanity-Barbara Jo Fenton
- Making age irrelevant Andrea Heiland
- Rock my life-Jenn Whiteford Givler
- Becoming more awesome-Dawn Carlsen Green
- IN.FOR.LIFE-Theresa Thomann Haar
- Get Beatrice Mobile (Beatrice is his daughter who is has a condition which prevents her from being able to walk) - It's why I do everything, why I'm losing weight, why I'm staying fit and why I'm eating paleo. She's everything to me. Andrew Howden
Making shift happen...
1. Use the guidelines and examples above (any of them are in play) to create your own powerful 3 word mantra (Positive Trigger). Remember though, while 3 concise words would be nice, Ferris applied the concept using 3 phrases instead. So be creative and don't be afraid to color outside the lines.
2. Create something you are so proud of that you would make it into a t-shirt that you would wear proudly. In fact, get it printed up on a couple of t-shirts. That's what I did with mine.
3. Find creative ways to display your positive trigger. In fact, steal some ideas from Austin Kleon. Austin does something called newspaper blackout, where he will takes a newspaper and blackouts the entire article except for a few choice words. These words then form their own motivational message. Take a look at some of his work -->HERE and see if you could do something similar with your mantra.
4. Leave your tagline/mantra/positive trigger in the comments below.
Note: It takes time to come up with a great trigger. So what you first come up with serves as a stepping stone for your final product. Be prepared to edit yours as you refine your vision of what you begin to deem possible.
Now go, make some serious shift happen,
DD
ps...I am excited to announce that next week I will be releasing the Pilot of my Make Shift Happen Podcast series. Stay tuned for more!!
Real Food, Real Frugal, Real Freedom!
The tim ferris approach. Love it Robyn. And I love the word real myself!!
I am a GENIUS!!! I did this without even knowing it
I started a FB group with some friends called “iBring-it”. I definitely triggers positive thoughts for me. I BRING IT = I HAVE CONTROL of whatever that “it” is that “I bring”. I BRING my attitude towards exercise and food. I BRING my knowledge and positive attitude to the group. I BRING encouragement to my friends. I BRING my decision to make the time to take care of myself in order to take better care of my family. I BRING IT BECAUSE I CAN!!!
Don’t you love accidental genius A…I have had a few of those moments as well…I LOVE how you use it and how it extends beyond simply body transformation…I do P90X and Tony Horton uses the tagline BRING IT! It’s powerful…and brilliant to stick the “I” in front.
I’ve done p90x as well and Tony was the inspiration for it but I did need to make it “my” tag line since no one else can “bring” it for me. I noticed that when he said it, sometimes it motivated me, sometimes it didn’t. But it works everytime I say it to myself
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Hey gurl I did the same thing with shift happens…changed the context added a verb…bham!!!
Reversing My Diabetes – I’m wondering if this is too specific or not inclusive enough…like Dean said, it may require editing
Talk my blah blahing for what it is worth T, but that might be too specific in the sense that it would not apply say to a relationship assessment, or something else that requires you to shift. What’s the bigger overriding theme with reversing your diabetes…meaning by doing so what will this allow you to achieve?
Do It Now!
No Excuses Ever!
Love your site!
Thanks Selvi. So which of those two helps center you when things aren’t going as planned?
It’s the no excuse mantra. Plain old laziness is the reason behind all the excuses I think of.
Wow, copywriting too, is there is no end to your genius, Dean? I use the rule of threes *all* the time.
This is my latest mantra -
Strengthen: respect: achieve.
Strengthening our relationships, respecting our differences, achieving our goals.
Oh I like that gurl!!! Yes my talents are many gurlfriend
Obsessed With Remarkable!
It’s been the tagline on my blog from the start. And it seems to fit right in with what your subject here, concerning the power of three. Very cool!
Maybe I will have it put on a t-shirt. Great idea.
Rich that would make a great t-shirt slogan!!
Sleep, Eat, Live
I think the first two are a big help for the third one
Anchor and Dive
I love the word anchor which you used above so I’m borrowing that. So I anchor myself, steady myself and then dive in, do the work, and ignore my flinch reflex.
This may sound cliche but my 3 words are Keep it real.
Real food
Real with myself
Real with others
Nothing cliche about that Orleatha…I had purchased a URL a few years back based on the same idea (never ended up using it) but I love the thought of keepin things real…important on this journey
Great, thought-provoking post as always Dean… I am honored to be included in your 50 Examples. It’s interesting because when you asked this question on Facebook it inspired me to think of the big picture of my life – as soon as I did that, Rock My Life instantly popped to mind… and since I wrote that, it’s been the driving force behind my intentions and my actions… it’s been an interesting week
Thanks for inspiring!
Your welcome Jenn. It’s funny how we/me overlook the power of simple strategies like that which seem so simple and yet can be SO POWERFUL. Your next step is to get a t=shirt or two make with your slogan…that’s when it really hits home for you…when you are wearing your trigger!!
Hmmm… T-shirt with Rock My Life on it – LOVE this idea… also the idea of a coffee mug with that on it… headed to Cafe Press Right. Now.
Hey Dean. Thanks for using S.A.D is BAD. I am partial to Primal or Bust. To me it seems to encompass the complete transition to the paleo lifestyle.
As far as making changes in all areas of life I like “DO IT NOW!!!!” (in my best Arnold voice). Something I need to work on desperately. I am a hardcore procrastinator.
Sorry Steve-o-rama I thought you knew I had final say in all your decisions ha ha! of course there is nothing to say we can’t have more than one saying either…I think the SAD is bad would make a great t-shirt…hmmmm!
I AM STRONGER. I think that says it all.
Says it all to me Laura!
Perhaps I should change the name of our Facebook page and blog to “Fat to CrossFit.” I suppose the “from” isn’t really necessary.
Great post, by the way!
–Sam Finley
I like that title btw…would look cool on a blog…fat to fit with the cross added in like we do when we edit our writing and leave a word out…do you have a website?
Yep. We have a blog and a FB page.
The blog, which chronicles our experiences as we transform from two sedentary “foodies” to elite CrossFitters, is at:
http://www.fromfattocrossfit.com
We’re 10 months into our journey. We’ve made a lot of progress but have a long way to go. There are ups and downs, as with anything else. However, we are passionate and are in it for the long haul.
We’ve managed to get nearly 500 likes to our FB page and have about 350 readers on the blog. That’s with no advertisement or networking, just word of mouth. However, we’d love to grow the sites and make them into something more. I hope to eventually become a CF coach. I’d love to let others know that, no matter how out of shape they are, how bad your their habits, and how abundant their excuses, they can make dramatic change with LOTS of hard work and passion for that hard work.
Take a look at the blog. I recently competed in my first CF comp. It didn’t go so well. I had a hard time with that. I gave myself a week to brood. Now, I’m more adamant about my goals than ever.
It’s all about the reality of all this and the waves of true transformation.
By the way, LOVE your page. Awesome articles!
—Sam Finley
Samantha here is some free marketing advice…whenever you leave a comment on a blog enter in your website address so people can automatically get to your site if they find your comment interesting…your name becomes a live link when you do so…makes a big difference as you build your business…ALWAYS BE BRANDING girl!! Will check it out for sure.
here is one more piece of advice…in your wordpress dashboard go to GENERAL SETTINGS and in the second line where it says tagline, delete ~Just another word press blog and put in the tagline for your site…that will show up then underneath your title as opposed to what is on there now!! free of charge that was
First off, great blog. All of your posts are thought provoking and inspiring. I always reserve some extra time when I see a new post of yours; they usually motivate me to challenge myself and write down some ideas and change my approach. Keep up the great work.
Being a geek at heart (and by trade), I created a recursive mantra:
It is important to understand that, although this mantra might sound arrogant on first read, the words are meant for me and not others. For example, I am not focused on amazing or inspiring others, but rather in amazing and inspiring myself through my own change.
Cheers,
Josh
Josh I friggin’ love that!! More so because you took one of my bigger lessons that I think many people fail to do…take people’s advice (including mine) and make it your own…that’s exactly what you did baby!!!
And btw there is nothing wrong with wanting to be inspiring or amazing to others…when I started on November 2010 I literally had that very thought…if I can make this work then I can inspire others to change.
Been one of the biggest reasons I have maintained what I have done!!
I agree, there is nothing wrong with inspiring others. I would be honored if that does happen as a result of my primal journey.
Being an inspirational leader is not foreign to me – I have captained rugby teams at a club and international level. I guess my point was more that I do not want my motivation to be centered around wanting (or needing) to please or impress others. My mantra is primarily to motivate myself and to help me achieve my personal goals.
Josh – I like yours so much that I’m having a really difficult time thinking of my own! I don’t think it sounds arrogant at all. I think it’s an empowering call to self-expression!
Thank you Aurora. What a lovely comment
I know I’m waking up an old thread, but I wanted to share a new trigger phrase that is a bit more specific to my dietary journey (and has helped me get back on track as of late):
Own Every Choice. Swiped from the midst of one of Mark Sisson’s posts, but it really popped out at me! Accountability and mindfulness are the two things I’m really trying to bring to the forefront.
Resilient
Resourceful
Resplendent
It’s a bit call, but I’m working on it!
I’m Sisu strong.
(Sisu is a Finnish term loosely translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.)
Also thanks to Mark Sisson (with a hint of Nikoley):
“F*ck Off Korg”
I want “It’s up to me,” but that has four words. Hmmmm. “Up to me,” doesn’t do it for me. I will think some more. It is a good post, and you are so right that we have to change the way we think before we will change what we do. And your other post which made the point that will power is exhaustible really hit home with me. I used to have a picture on my refrigerator with a picture of a dragon sitting under a tree picking his teeth with a knight’s lance with the empty suit of armor lying helter skelter, and the msg on the page ended with,”No matter how right your cause, sometimes the dragon wins.” I find it motivating to know that know matter how hard I try, I am not going to win every time, and that is just reality, which means I don’t have control over everything, I can’t make it right every time, and that is a very freeing thought to me.
I like the dragon picture and the message that sometimes failure is inevitable. Sometimes we need to accept defeat and regroup so we can come back stronger and wiser.
My Choices Matter.
Love this one.
Live. Laugh. Love
Live my life, live it with laughter, live it with love….
the shirt would be on the front Live.Laugh.Love and on the back in bold across my shoulders… Lucky.
Serve God Well.
“Create a Day”