Alexis's How-To's: How To Create a Personal Motto

Alexis Boehmler                                       Thursday, March 19, 2020

Alexis's How-To's: How to Create a 

Hi, everybody! It's Alexis, and I'm here to make another one of my How-Tos. This time, we'll be going over how to find a personal motto. 

There are many different situations in which you would want a personal motto. You could have it on a t-shirt, you could use it to defend yourself, or you could just have it as a mantra that calms you down or helps you see the light.

Anyway, I'll be going over many different methods on how to find your perfect motto! Enjoy!

Method 1: Using a Quote Book

There are lots of quote books that you can use to find a good quote for yourself. A helpful (although expensive) book of quotes is The Big Book of Quotes.

This book has over 3,500 quotes!

This book is just chock-full of quotes that are organized into sections like Power, Relationships, The Arts, and even Pets! 

Or you could even get a quote book that has one for every day. My quote book of choice is 365 Days Of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts.

My quote book of choice

It has quotes from famous authors, speakers, and singers, and even some quotes from kids who turned them in from all over the world! It even has an index with a short biography on each quoter.

Method 2: Quoting an Author or Celebrity

Some authors have just amazing quotes and things that they've said. Here are three of my top picks to choose from (although you can stray from this list as much as you want!)

Dr. Seuss: At a first glance, Dr. Seuss wrote nonsensical books for children. But with a closer look, his books are deep and meaningful. Here are some of my favorites:

• Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
• Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
• A person's a person, no matter how small.
• To the world you may just be one person; but to one person you may be the world.
• You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
• Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
• Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. 
• And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.
• You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?

Mahatma Gandhi: When you think of peacemakers, most people think of Gandhi. Here are some of his wise insights.

• Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are all in harmony. 
• The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.
• Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. 
• Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. 
• If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children. 
• In a gentle way, you can shake the world. 
• Hate the sin, love the sinner.
• To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
• You don't know who is important to you until you lose them.
• You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. 

Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.: I know, I know. I didn't have to write his whole name, but dang, he has a long one. MLK was (and is!) a very powerful voice for African American rights. Here are some of his best moments.

• Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
• The time is always right to do what is right.
• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
• Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'
• Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last.
• I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
• The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
• True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. 
• Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.
• In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
• I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.

Method 3: Quoting the Bible

Even if you're not religious, the Bible is a great place to go for uplifting, encouraging quotes. Here are some of the best (with pictures!!).

And if none of these work for you, don't worry! Just grab the nearest Bible and open to a random page. Or simply google "Inspirational Bible Passages." Anything will work!

Method 4: Look for inspiration nearby!

This one is as simple as it seems. Look around you! Take the loveliness of the world and keep it with you, with an equally lovely motto.

Method 5: Write Your Own!

I'm sad that most people don't like to find a personal motto this way. It's much more fun than all the others, in my opinion. Here's the way that I would do it.

Step 1: Find out what you want in a motto!

Here are some things to go through before writing your motto:

• What things are important to you in life?
• What's the greatest lesson you've learned?
• What do you want to change about yourself?
• What do you want to change about others?
• What's something that you want others to hear?
• What do you like about yourself?
• What would you describe yourself like, in one word?

When you've decided what content you want in your motto, move onto the next step.

Step 2: Write it!

Just start writing! Keep writing, even when it doesn't turn out exactly how you wanted (notice that I said when, not if). You can always revise later.

Step 3: Revise!

Haha! That later is now. Revise it until it's just how you like it.

Step 3: Make it fancy and spread it!

There are lots of ways that you can make your motto beautiful and put it everywhere.

• Translate it into Latin.
• Write it in calligraphy.
• Put it on a t-shirt.
• Post it somewhere (make sure to link this post to it :p).
• Make a mural of it.
• Draw something inspired by it.
• Get a tattoo with it (BUT BE RESPONSIBLE).

Step 4: Enjoy!

Make sure to tell all of your friends about your new and improved