06 Nov From Message to Movement: 11 Principles to Spreading an Idea Across the Planet
“A message becomes a movement when every member of the mission becomes its leader. And when everyone starts to lead, a revolution begins.”
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of research on revolutions.
I’ve been curious how they start, how they grow and how they create change in a lasting and meaningful way.
Why?
Because at Live Your Legend, we are leading our own revolution. And it’s starting to catch on in a pretty big way – 100% thanks to all of you.
In the last few months, readers have held LYL Live Meetups in Los Angles, Australia, Pittsburgh and New York, and more are already being planned for Minneapolis, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Paris and China in the next couple months.
One of our inspiring members, Mark Arkell, has even started a Live Your Legend Club at his university in Ontario, Canada where he’s completing his PhD in philosophy!
It’s hard for me to believe this is really happening, but there’s no question that indeed it is.
From Idea to Revolution…
In my studies, one man who stands out more than most is 84-year-old Gene Sharp, whom I heard about from a TEDx talk I attended in San Francisco last year.
In 2009 and 2012 Gene was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in non-violent resistance. He wrote a handbook called From Dictatorship to Democracy that has since been translated into 31 languages. It is a step-by-step guide of 198 steps for building and mounting a non-violent revolution.
This book and Gene’s ideas have been behind the recent revolutions and uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Libya, as well as countless others including in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia when they separated from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Due to its effectiveness in creating positive change, the book is now illegal to possess in many dictator-led countries. If they find you with the book, you go to jail.
And these are just ideas. How crazy is that?!
From a small office in the middle of the U.S., an 84-year-old man is able to share ideas that are allowing people to literally overthrow regimes and reclaim their freedom all over the planet. That’s how powerful these ideas are. (Gene’s work is also being covered in a new documentary called How to Start a Revolution, which should be out soon.)
This is the world we live in today. We could not be more empowered.
But it’s up to us to do something with that power.
Granted, Live Your Legend is not setting out to overthrow a government, but we are out to overthrow the complacent way of living that so much of the world has adopted. And I see this as a cause very worth fighting for.
We are here to give the middle finger to the scripted life of quiet desperation that over 80% of the people around us have committed to living. And to show the world that the impossible can become our new normal.
That is a big task.
So … that is why I’ve been studying revolutions.
And thanks to the ideas from the likes of Gene Sharp and my good friend Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness, I’ve distilled down the 11 requirements of transforming a message into a movement. I hope this reminds you of what we’re all capable of as community and provides a framework for leading a charge to change the world in your own way.
The 11 Steps to Creating a Revolution and Spreading an Idea Across the Planet:
1. Have a crystal clear passionate cause and message that the world can get behind.
At Live Your Legend, we believe that doing work you love is a fundamental right. It’s something that everyone is capable of doing with the right tools, community, inspiration and support.
Our mission is to change the world by helping people find what excites them and build a career around the work only you are capable of doing.
Imagine a world where, instead of 80% of people hating the work they did, the majority of people spent their time on projects that made them come alive and impacted the world in a way only they could?
Think about that for a few seconds.
Imagine the level of innovation. How would people start to treat each other? What could be different?
That is our reason for being. That is why Live Your Legend exists.
2. Have a name to embody the community.
Every movement needs a name for its tribe and community. People want to be a part of something that inspires them. Naming and positioning can do amazing things for inspiration and motivation. That’s why sports teams have mascots and team names and why extremist groups always go by a certain name.
Steve Kamb took the Star Wars theme and called his community The Rebellion. Others may be called the revolution, uprising, revolt, awaking, the change, freedom fighters, or perhaps an analogy or symbol that stands for what we believe. Really this could be anything, but I want it to be meaningful, memorable and unique to us.
Live Your Legend is a powerful name and brand to embody our beliefs and vision, but I want to take it a step further and find a word or phrase that describes our tribe here.
And I need your help with this!
After all, you are our community. Before leaving this page, please take 20 seconds and leave in the comments one idea as to what we could call our community. To make it fun, I decided to host a contest around this. So I am giving away a newly designed Live Your Legend t-shirt to 10 of you who comment before this Friday. I can’t wait to hear your ideas!
3. Have a clear set of operating principles and way of life.
Every great movement has a timeless set of core values, beliefs and principles that govern their actions and keep them true to their cause.
When I launched LYL last year, I created the Live Your Legend Operating Manifesto: The 17 Habits of People Who Change the World. A year later these are still every bit as relevant – just as they’ll be twenty years from now.
I’m currently having my designer create an inspiring graphical depiction and poster of this manifesto (kind of like the Connect with Anyone Creed from last week). I can’t wait to show it to you!
4. Communicate your core message in an inspiring and easy-to-digest way.
Blogs and modern technology have made this incredibly easy and powerful. And the right video can put that connection on steroids.
That is why I was so damn excited to get on the TEDx stage last month to speak on Doing Work You Love & Surrounding Yourself with the People Who Won’t Let You Fail. TED has been an unreal resource for me to learn and share in so many different messages and movements over the past few years. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this organization.
Then getting the chance to share and help the world with our own message from the center of the TEDx stage took things to a whole new level. And it completely blew my mind when the video got over 175,000 views within the first few weeks of it going live. What an honor. Enjoy…
Don’t see a video? Click here.
5. Support a cause that embodies your message – Together.
Everything we do here comes back to helping the people around us. The more we can do that in our own unique and talented way, the more the world will change for the better.
This also goes for supporting and giving back to the people who need it most. Ideally you want to do this through a unifying charity or cause that represents what you believe in.
This is why the youth charity impossible2Possible is the official partner charity for Live Your Legend.
Five percent of all our revenue goes to the work that Ray Zahab and his team are doing to inspire kids to push their physical and mental limits and prove to themselves that most things the world says are impossible are just milestones waiting to happen. Anytime you buy one of our products or courses, you are supporting this cause. We thank you for that!
In fact as I write this, Ray and his team are in the middle of running 400km over eight days through the Kalahari region of Botswana, Africa with eight youth ambassadors ages 17-21 (that’s over 40km a day!) as they learn about water and its effect on human development and biodiversity. Every day they broadcast their experiential learning and lessons live to over 20,000 students in classrooms across the world. How amazing is modern technology!? Today is their fifth day on the trails!
You can learn more about impossible2Possible and our relationship here.
6. Make it incredibly easy for others to share the message.
A movement really starts to spread when each member takes it upon themselves to spread the message in their own ways with their own communities.
I can only get our message out to so many people, but if every one of you took it upon yourself to share our work here with at least one person who needed it and then if they did the same, our 18,000+ members from 158 countries could start to cause some crazy things to happen.
I try to make this as easy for you as possible. That’s why there are Twitter and Facebook share links on every article as well as an easy way to email them to friends at the bottom of each post. That’s also why I make over 95% of our tools here totally free to you all and why I encourage you to share, copy and repurpose our ideas in any way and in any place you like. You want to copy any one of our articles and paste on your own blog as a post? More power to you!
That is also why I’m creating the Live Your Legend LIVE Field Kit mentioned below.
7. Bring people together in the real world.
While the web is a powerful tool for finding people who believe what you believe and building a community around it, the real magic happens when you put people together in the real physical world. Those of you were were at our LYL LIVE event at Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco in August know what I’m talking about. The energy, excitement and possibility in that room was mind-blowing.
I will do a separate article on this, but as a result of that one night, dozens of people formed mastermind groups, quit toxic jobs, started companies and launched products.
Crazy things happen when you put world changers in one place.
We must provide a physical space where people can come and belong. Live Your Legend and our Facebook Group is that in the virtual world, and our live events are that in the real world. I plan to do many more of those in the future and eventually host experiential retreats around the world (imagine twenty of us hiking the Annapurna Circuit through Nepal for a week or two as we plot how we can best live our legends…that is going to happen!).
This is why it’s so exciting and so crucial to this movement that you all host your own events around the world. It’s already happening in a big way, and many of you asked exactly how to best do this.
So as a result, I am creating what I’m tentatively calling the Live Your Legend LIVE Field Kit, which will be a step-by-step guide for hosting your own LYL event in your own city that will include possible event topics, meeting outlines, choosing a venue, graphics and banners you can have printed at your local print shop and a lot more. I picture this being a mini version of Gene Sharp’s From Dictatorship to Democracy handbook . 🙂
We need to make it as easy as possible to put the power in all of your hands. I think this will help that mission in a huge way!
8. Showcase the positive change people are making.
Nothing speaks louder than results. Don’t tell others why they should believe in your cause. Show them. And give the members of the movement a way to inspire the people around them.
That is the sole purpose of our Living Legends Reader Spotlight – to show that members of our community are doing amazing things and making real progress in having the impact they want to have, and to give everyone else a chance to help and join their own cause. Every month we profile 5 to 10 of your stories to our 50,000+ monthly readers. Here’s a recent spotlight.
It you’d like your story profiled, fill out the form on this page.
9. Take yourself out of the equation. Give the community a way to interact.
A movement starts to go viral when every member of the movement becomes the leader and adopts the mission as their own.
If you try to always stay in the middle of things and be in the spotlight, you will never experience the growth that could be possible if you just stepped aside and let everyone be the leader in their own way.
This is why we created the Live Your Legend Action & Accountability Group in Facebook.
It’s a place where all of you can go and connect, share your ideas, help each other and set up your own meetups and events. Since we created this a few months ago, it’s already taken on a life of its own.
You can request access to the private LYL Facebook Group here. I will, of course, accept your request as soon as you ask for it!
Remember, this movement is ALL OF OURS. Do with it what you’d like.
10. Give people a way to identify each other. Have a uniform.
Me sporting the new threads in Thailand!
The more people can feel like they belong, the better. Just the simple act of looking like someone else makes you feel unified and a part of the same mission. Why do you think every army and sports team on the planet has their own colors and uniform? The more we can foster this energy and excitement, the better.
I’m not saying we walk around as a LYL billboard, but for a long time I’ve been wanting to have something physical that we all could wear (if we wanted) as a symbol that we all believe in the same cause.
We now finally have our first ever LYL Do Something That Matters t-shirts. My wife and I seriously cannot stop wearing these babies! You can grab yours here.
11. Have a rallying cry (i.e. A pump-up song)!
There is no faster way to infuse inspiration and change your physical, mental and emotional state than through the right music. There’s a reason boxers enter the ring to a certain song and why good musicians are so powerful and highly paid. We need a song that unifies us. That servers as an anchor to remind us why we do what we do here, and a trigger to fire us up to make a difference.
I used to listen to Tupac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” before every Jiu-Jitsu fight back when I competed. It was like gold. I have a whole list of pump-up songs on my Inspire Me mix on my iPhone, but there is one that gets played every day on my workouts and every time before I take the stage for a big talk. I probably listened to it 8 times before last month’s TEDx Talk. It’s a song my wife used to play when she taught her yoga classes.
It’s called Be The Change by MC Yogi. I believe it makes for the perfect rallying cry. Click the below YouTube video to give it a listen.
When I listen to this song I believe anything is possible. I hope you agree…
(Don’t see a video? Click here to watch it.)
The Inevitability of Change
Change will happen no matter what.
It always does.
It can be for the worse or for the better.
We have the opportunity to do something great here.
Alone, our task seems impossible. Together, we can change the world.
We now have over 18,000 members from 158 countries. And over 50,000 onlookers come by to check out our movement every month.
We have momentum. We have the community. At this point I see it as inevitable.
As long as we decide to do something with it…
This is our mission. We know it will be hard.
But it reminds me of what John F. Kennedy said in his 1962 speech at Rice University:
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And could not think of a better team to have in my corner than all of you.
Onward.
-Scott
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Image credit 1
Jo
Posted at 16:32h, 06 NovemberI don’t know whether it’s the name of the movement (like The Rebellion) or the name of those in the movement (Freedom Fighters) that you’re looking for, so I’ll try both!
The Living
The Legenders
Passion Seekers
Passion Hunters
The Rise of Passion
Ok, my mind isn’t working too well. Will have to try again another time! I’m sure you’ll find something awesome!
Scott
Posted at 16:34h, 06 NovemberLove it Jo. Thanks for sharing! There’s definitely some potential there!
As for your question – I’d say I’m looking for a name for the movement and the members of the movement. Maybe the same word/phrase or two different ones.
I’m open to any and all ideas!
Erica
Posted at 22:21h, 06 NovemberJo great ideas! To take your idea a little further what about The living legends? Scott thanks for everything you do. 🙂 My brain is tired will try to think of something that truly embodies everything LYL and you represent.
Kate
Posted at 14:41h, 07 NovemberThe Living Legends! That is awesome!
🙂
Lehua
Posted at 01:53h, 08 NovemberI love that idea too: Living Legends!
Another I thought of randomly:
Driven to Live
Although that doesn’t quite embody the “legends” part… but it does embody the idea of passion overcoming complacency!
Lots of great ideas here though! 🙂 Cheers!
Lehua
Ozan
Posted at 17:20h, 06 NovemberScott,
Great article. 11 steps that sound so simple when you read them yet so hard to think of on your own.
In brilliant words of a great leader Martin Luther King, Jr, how aboout the name “NOW IS THE TIME!” movement? I feel like one thing people are so good at is procrastination and fire needs to be lid under people’s a–es. NOW IS THE TIME! Don’t wait another day, or hour or even a minute. Take the first step towards changing the world by doing the work you love NOW!
Scott
Posted at 18:01h, 06 NovemberYeah baby!! Thanks what I’m talking about.
When is now a good time to change the world?
Love it!
Ben Friedrich
Posted at 18:40h, 06 NovemberYou’re post reminded me of one of my favorite “doing things” quotes:
Don’t get stuck like the schoolboy, endlessly practicing grammar and learning vocabulary, but never writing a poem, a play, or a novel. – Jonathan Harris
Names (Many of these only provided for comedic value.)
Ordinary2Extraordinary.
The Ordinary Revolt.
The Extraordinary Revolution.
The Business Berserkers.
Confederates of the Confederation.
The Pirate Alliance. – Stealing back your LIFE.
Making Change. Changers … which reminds me of shiftshapers. Or an Obama ad.
The Legacy Pact. Members will be given the name Legosaurus.
The Passionate Life. Life Chaser. Passion Chaser.
Passion Riot.
The Legend Team / Legendary Team. Not the A-Team, or even the B-Team. We’re the L-Team!
Scott
Posted at 07:07h, 07 NovemberLove these ideas Ben – and that quote!
It’s so fun to see all the names I would have never thought of on my own.
One of the many benefits of hanging around all you smart and passionate folks!
Eugene
Posted at 02:08h, 07 NovemberHi Scott,
How about “The Legendaries”?
Eugene
Scott
Posted at 07:08h, 07 NovemberI do like that Eugene. Or something along those lines. Would love to have it tie into LYL nicely like that.
Joe Hall
Posted at 07:18h, 07 NovemberWas going to suggest the same myself — The Legendaries. Because we can all be one! We can all live our own unique legend.
Love what you do, Scott. From London, England – thanks for all your inspiring.
Robert Monteux
Posted at 06:06h, 07 NovemberHi Scott,
Off the top of my head,
I Am A Living Legend
or
Walk The Talk
Robert
Scott
Posted at 07:08h, 07 NovemberNice. Or maybe just The Living Legends?
Sasha
Posted at 06:28h, 07 NovemberAwesome ideas above. How about:
Become a Legend
Be a Legend
One Life – One Chance.
Hope you like it.
Cheers
Scott
Posted at 07:09h, 07 NovemberOoooo. One Life. Very cool! I actually used a phrase like that called The One Life Club in our Live Off Your Passion career course. Totally forgot about it!
Sasha
Posted at 17:18h, 07 NovemberI’m glad you like it 🙂
Vimal
Posted at 00:48h, 11 NovemberOne Life – Few Chance and it’s your choice to live.
Dave Lukes
Posted at 06:47h, 07 NovemberHow about “MakeChange” as a name for the movement?
We can call all of us “ChangeMakers”.
On a personal note…
Scott, a million thanks for what you do: it’s changed my life already.
Dave.
Scott
Posted at 07:10h, 07 NovemberThanks Dave. That means more than you realize.
And I do really like how MakeChange and ChangeMakers fit so well together.
That is all that it comes down to right? Positive change!
gloria ives
Posted at 06:51h, 07 NovemberName of the Revolution: All For One.
The Logo or symbol might be the word All inside the Letter O of the word One.
We are Caretakers of Personal Purpose making a Global Difference.
All for ONE and ONE for all. (The little Rascals Said it best…)
Our song might be” One” by U2
Scott
Posted at 07:11h, 07 NovemberNice thinking Gloria – I have to look up that song by U2 right now!
Sharon Hudson
Posted at 07:19h, 07 NovemberI have 3 ideas.
1) Chrysalis. The final stage before the butterfly (or moth, or whatever) emerges having transformed into something that uses very different abilities, and is much more impressive to behold.
2. Gold. Shiny, and valued around the world. Also the final stage in the software development cycle when it is ready for production (following alpha, beta, test, remediation, etc.)
3. Something with the word “ultrapass” in it. I was looking up synonyms for the word ‘transcend” and found that “ultrapassar” is a Portuguguese translation of the word. I think it is a great word!
Ken Saveth
Posted at 07:33h, 07 NovemberMoving Mountains
Patricia
Posted at 07:42h, 07 NovemberThank you Scott, I’m proud to be part of it!
I thought that LiveYourLegend was the name of the movement 🙂
Talk to you very soon!
Patricia
Ravi Peal-Shankar
Posted at 08:11h, 07 NovemberHi Scott
To get in to context , let me explain my vision (or my ‘WHY’).
“My vision is to ‘Elevate’ people by what they receive from me”. In order to do that I have to ‘elevate’ myself in every way I can. For an example, you email newsletter helps me ‘elevate’ myself and doing so I am able to help and ‘elevate’ others I come to contact with, like my clients, my subscribers, my family, kids and friends…
Enough about me…
The point is the term “Elevate” seem to be a perfect fit for the movement you have unleashed.
So it could go along the lines of ….
‘Elevation Army’
‘Elevation Academy’
(‘Elevators’ – does give the wrong impression)
‘Elevation movement’
and so on…
To the next level…
Best Wishes
Ravi
Gloria ives
Posted at 15:59h, 07 Novemberlove your thinking. “Elevation Nation”
Cynthia
Posted at 08:30h, 07 November“Lifeline”
Something you can grab onto.
Marc Woolf
Posted at 08:41h, 07 NovemberHow about:
MOVE
over
mediocrity
(the word move is placed strategically over mediocrity)
MOVE could be the acronym for
“Make One Victory Everyday”
The Awakened Dreamers
Robert J. Drake
Posted at 08:43h, 07 NovemberScott,
How about “The Legendary World Revolution”? Positive change is the foundation to positive results. With all the negativity out there it is doubly hard to stay positive. I myself have had so many set backs getting through college that sometimes all I see is the bumpy road and not to goals I’m working at achieving. You are actually the one who has inspired me at 32 years old to go to school. It hasn’t been easy, but I have found myself a capable and able student. I haven’t been able to afford your kits, but I think you are doing wonderful things out in the world. If it has enough sense, it will thank you. Keep it going!
Sincerely,
Robert
sharon hudson
Posted at 08:50h, 07 NovemberUnmask Your Legend (although it brings a kind of lone ranger feel)
Unveil your Legend….
Jeff
Posted at 08:55h, 07 November“The Renegades” seems like a pretty powerful name to me. We are certainly doing things differently and are set on a course of freedom for ourselves and others. We act in unconventional matters and are deserting the old ways of life in exchange for a brighter future filled with passionate people.
Our symbol could be the sun. We are passionate, full of energy, and we seek to ignite the spark of greatness in others. We are also warm and welcoming to all who wish to transition to the life of the Renegade.
You can even combine this if you want and turn it into “The Renegade Suns.”
Jeff
Posted at 09:48h, 07 NovemberAlternatively, “The Legends” is a pretty straightforward name.
Lauren Allen
Posted at 09:38h, 07 NovemberI like Sharon’s idea of Chrysalis. It’s unique, yet most people will know the meaning. And I like the idea of transforming who you already are into something greater.
Justin Harmon
Posted at 09:44h, 07 NovemberHey Scott,
First phrase that came to my mind was, “We Are Legend”
Some other suggestions:
Be the Change, Become a Legend
Legends Among Us
Connecting Legends
An Epic Life
Live Free, Become a Legend
Legend Life
Legendary Reign
IDK,
Justin
Rob
Posted at 11:00h, 07 NovemberJustin, I love “Legends Among Us.” It helps breakdown the aura of destiny around previous legends and makes everyone also sound like Superheroes.
Maxim
Posted at 10:05h, 07 NovemberThank’s for the inspiration and information that you’re sharing with the world, Scott! It has helped me to believe that there are just too many possibilities to do the impossible.
As for the name of the movement:
“The Legendary Pact”
Nothing epic/ legendary comes to mind on how to call the members, so you could just call them “Subscribers” or “Pact Autographers”
To Living Your Legend,
Max
Lee McKenzie
Posted at 10:32h, 07 NovemberGreat article Scott!
Now for the branding:
League of Legends
Move Makers
Action Alliance
Legendeers
Mighty Many
Mighty Movers
Wave Makers
Earth Shakers
Passion Pioneers
Passion Pushers
Blaze Makers
Ground Breakers
Legend Leaders
Box Breakers (as in, thinking inside the box, or cubicle , and breaking free)
Clan of Courage
Crazy Ones
Game Changers
.. My eyes are closing on me 🙂 that’s all I can physically/mentally do right now.
Hope you like them Scott!
Cheers,
Lee
Jo
Posted at 10:25h, 14 NovemberI love League of Legends and Passion Pioneers!
Christina
Posted at 10:44h, 07 NovemberI’d like to stick with LYL using “Legendiers”
I was thinking of combining the word “Engineer” and “Legendary”.
Like engineers, we’re tirelessly building and paving a new path. That building will be legendary.
This also addresses the LYL followers, which is sort of like a Legion.
🙂
Nic
Posted at 11:29h, 07 NovemberI like the idea of Legendeers or Living Legends as the name of members…also the idea of “Wake Up” as a movement, I know how much I needed to wake up and I bet there are tons of other people out there just like me.
Scott
Posted at 14:57h, 08 NovemberJoin the “Wake Up!”
That’s pretty cool…
Thanks Nic!
Dilip
Posted at 11:44h, 07 NovemberHi Scott,
Some names that I could think of:
Now’s the time !!
BeTheImpossible!
BeTheRevolution!
NewYOU
BeTheChange!!
Marcelo Chinellato
Posted at 12:11h, 07 NovemberHi Scott, I didn’t read all the comments, so I apologise if I am being repetitive!
But I actually really like “Live your legend” as it stands, when I first came across this website and this name I thought it was genius, as it summarises so much in so little. I think the best names are the ones that can concisely communicate the main idea without any further explanation. And that’s what this name does!
I also liked the variations Living Legends or The Living Legends”.
I would even add other ones like “Be your Legend” “Breathe your Legend”. But my vote goes for the first ones!
Cheers,
Marcelo
Opiyo
Posted at 12:24h, 07 Novemberhi Scott,
It is already a revolution and l hope to begin a lyl soon in kisumu once l have made the right connection. Am loving every moment of being part of this wonderful community! Some of these may have been suggested
Legends now!
The legends
(The) living legends
Legends today
Legends
Boundary breakers
Super legends!
Dent makers!
Passion legends!
I still have feeling for: living legends or legends or super legends
Iris
Posted at 12:35h, 07 NovemberI really like your name and branding of Live Your Legends. I’d definitely stick with something that has to do with Legends.
Everyday Legends
maybe?
Maybe a reread of The Alchemist will help. It has inspired you once, why not twice? 🙂
patrick l'amour
Posted at 12:43h, 07 November‘FeedForword’
Susan
Posted at 13:27h, 07 NovemberHey Scott,
To tie in with the LYL…
Live Your Legend
Love Your Life
We could all be Lifers;)
Kate
Posted at 14:46h, 07 NovemberI wanted to reply to everyone’s comments! This is so much fun! 🙂
And clearly the way to go… having a name and a tribe makes it all the more exciting, not to mention recognizable.
My suggestion:
“The Legion of Living Legends”
I want to be able to ask others (very stealthily of course)
“Are you part of The Legion?”
And to be able to say
“I am a Living Legend.”
SO COOL!! 😀
Paige | simple mindfulness
Posted at 14:55h, 07 NovemberA few others have mentioned it but The Living Legends is the one that resonates the most with me. I also noticed that some in the FB group are already calling themselves The Legends.
Legends, by itself, seems to speak of the great people of the past. When people aren’t around anymore, we tend to glorify them and make them and the awesome things they did somehow unreachable for us.
Living Legends says that we’re the great people doing great things NOW. This makes it more accessible to those who feel like they don’t yet have what it takes to be a Legend themselves. When people can see and meet others who are currently doing amazing things, it’s more tangible. They’re more likely to think, “Hey, if he/she can do it, so can I!” This is why I think your Reader Spotlights are so important to the community.
I want to do big, amazing things myself and sometimes wonder how I’ll ever get there. I look at what you’ve created here and think, “Wow! I have a long way to go!” But then I think about how much you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time and it gets me more into the thinking of, “If he can do it, so can I!”
Scott, keep doing what you’re doing and showing us what being a Living Legend is all about!
David White
Posted at 14:58h, 07 NovemberHi LYLers
How about these names as a powerful motivators for a Lifestyle revolution:
power of the Positive
Be the Change (BTC)
Lifechangers
Beth O'Donnell
Posted at 14:58h, 07 November“The Insistence” (a take-off on “The Resistance”)
I like The Legion and Legendeers as well.
Jessica McKimmie
Posted at 19:07h, 07 NovemberGood ideas! I like.
Sabine B.
Posted at 15:36h, 07 NovemberHi Scott,
like many others I also like “Living Legends” and the idea / feeling of a Legion.
However, another term comes to my mind when I am thinking of what your work is doing with us: igniting a fire, starting a flame … something wild, roaring, with true FIRE in it! (Like the turbines I fly 😉
Find your flame
Fire in the heart and soul
Find your fire / Ignite your fire
Well, none of combinations even comes close to the “Living Legends” – a really good one!
Keep up your great work!
All the best,
Sabine
from Germany
Wendy Krueger
Posted at 17:14h, 07 NovemberHi Scott:
You have a lot of great recommendations from readers.
Echoing the words or several people above, the LYL brand is very strong and I think that is the overall “movement”. I would call the individual and/or collective members: The Legendeers, The Legendiers or The Living Legends. I actually like the suggestion of the dent makers (nice tribute to Steve) but I don’t think anyone in reality would want to be called a dent maker 🙂
Perhaps, The Living Legend Makers. Has that already been said?
– Wendy
Curtis
Posted at 17:50h, 07 NovemberPossible Movement Group Names:
The Passion Project or The Passion Proposal
Dedication Nation
Complacency Killers
Passion Protagonists
Possible Group/Movement Mantras:
“Live a legendary existence”
“Be legendary today.” or “Become legendary today”
“Live like a legend today.” (Play on Notre Dame’s famous “Play like a champion today.”)
“Give in to your passion today.”
Irina
Posted at 18:56h, 07 NovemberHi Scott,
You mentioned that you’ve been doing some research about revolutions, sooo…
how about:
The Revolution (for the movement)
and
The Revels (fun, festive and rhymes with rebels 🙂
~irina
Jessica McKimmie
Posted at 19:06h, 07 NovemberLiving Legends
was first one that came to mind – I see that many minds think alike! Simple, in line w brand, empowering.
a few others:
Legend Legion
Legend League (or League of Legends)
Legend Leaders
sorry if there are any repeats, I didn’t read all of the comments!
Yan
Posted at 20:03h, 07 NovemberJessica got in before me, but similarly along the lines she was going
How about, “The League”, short for (The League of Legends)
Muhammad Shariff Paul
Posted at 20:45h, 07 NovemberDear Scott
Game Changers
To me some parts of our future has been planned for us by others (Big Corporations) and they seem to control the destiny of even nations. Perhaps the community can help change this sad situation.
Jeff
Posted at 21:34h, 07 NovemberThere are so many good ideas already.
How about
Legendary Living
I like Legenedeers too
Knights Of Legend
Beverly
Posted at 03:55h, 08 NovemberI like the word quest.
How about LegendQuesters – It might spark or lead to a conversational question – “What’s a LegendQuester?”
or what about something with “sparks” or “sparklers” or innovators (innovators might encourage all kinds of ideas for legends)…
Tomo
Posted at 04:01h, 08 NovemberHow about
WR Legends
We are Legends
We´re living Legends
WR the Legends
We are the living Legends
Tomo
Posted at 04:05h, 08 Novemberforgott….
WELL :We are the living Legends or
:We are the loving Legends
Hans Philip
Posted at 04:28h, 08 NovemberHi there Scott ! Thanks for all the GREAT content and being so inspirational ! I’m a big fan !
Perhaps you could call this movement
The livolution !
Regards
Mary Harrington
Posted at 06:21h, 08 NovemberScott, so many good ideas!
“Living Legend Passionistas”
Oops that’s female – but cute
Is there something gender neutral?
Ravi Peal-Shankar
Posted at 08:49h, 08 NovemberHi Scott
This is my second suggestion:
You should call this group “10ft Chop sticks”.
The story below gives a clue as to why you should call your group “10ft chop sticks”!
(Apologies for it being long!)
There was once a gentleman who wanted to check out the after life. He heard about heaven and hell and wanted to see what they were really like.
After all, he thought “if I lived a good life and I get to the after life and find out that it’s all big lie I would be pretty peeved”. Especially after refusing to eat all the good food because he thought it was wrong to be so gluttonous. But if it didn’t matter, then he would rather enjoy himself and eat as much as he could.
So he booked a guided tour to heaven and hell for one day.
First, his guide took him to the gates of hell. As he peered through the gates he saw a marvellous array of the most wonderful food piled high on large tables for as far as the eye could see. It looked great he thought!
So he wondered through the gates with his guide. On and on they walked and all the while they were surrounded by the most wonderful food he has ever seen.
This seem more heaven to him than hell. “Wow hell is the place for me” he thought and told the guide. “This is incredible- all the food I could eat and what could be wrong with that? Food for eternity it’s my dream” he said…
His guide said nothing. However as they walked in to a large hall with a table many miles long piled up with food, he noticed all the people who were sitting around the table were ill and sick and skinny. People with little or no flesh left on their bone.
They were complaining of hunger for whole of eternity!!!!
The man turned to his guide… but I don’t understand … there is all the food and yet these people are starved….how can this be possible he said?
Look more closely replied his guide… you’ll see the reason soon.
As he got nearer to the people, he saw they were holding very long chop sticks. As the man looked on he saw that no one could use their 10ft chop stick to eat the food. They could pick the food with their chopsticks but could not get it into their mouths…
Seeing this he thought it is now time to take a tour of heaven…
As he wondered through the pearly gates with his guide he was amazed that everything looked the same (as hell). Huge piles of food all around; food as far as the eye could see. On and on they walked until, as in hell they came to another large hall…with a table many miles long and full of food…and once again he noticed that people were holding 10ft chop sticks.
Only this time these people were, healthy very happy, well fed and completely different to hell.
“But I don’t understand” the man asked his guide. “How come everyone here is happy and healthy while… everyone in hell is starving?”
His guide looks at him and replied … the difference is simple… it’s in the state of mind. “Look more closely” and the man did. And he quickly realised what was happening…
In heaven each person used the 10ft chop sticks to pick the food and feed the person opposite them. In return the person opposite will do the same back. Both individuals got fed. However in hell people were afraid of some one stealing their food and selfishly trying to use their 10ft chop stick to feed them selves. And that’s why they go hungry!
=====
Best Wishes
Ravi
Jake T.
Posted at 21:28h, 08 NovemberEven if the name would be a tough sell, I really liked that story, Ravi!
Clayton Elliott
Posted at 10:05h, 08 NovemberThis is an epic post Scott! Starting a movement is the epitome of creating something bigger than oneself that has the potential to outlast oneself as well. Really, really enjoyed this post!
I actually had the opportunity to watch Gene Sharps’ How to Start a Revolution back in the winter at a screening here in Toronto. It was a powerful film that presented an effective model for toppling oppressive regimes through non-violent resistance. Thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. The only critiques were that it didn’t propose solutions to less-known, yet still serious, injustices happening in so called “free and democratic countries”.
Also, my friend Rob Stewart (creator of the globally acclaimed doc Sharkwater) just finished his latest documentary called Revolution: Save the Humans. I saw the screening here in TO and it was amazing! Playing in theatres April 22, 2013 (Int. Earth Day) and worth checking out. He started a global Save the Sharks Movement. Now, he’s starting an global awareness movement of our own plight for sustainable longevity on this planet. http://www.therevolutionmovie.com/.
As for a name for your movement, I think staying congruent with the LYL brand might be a good idea. I’m not a branding or movement making genius, but I think congruency would increase the effectiveness of it. The LYL tribe already recognizes and deeply resonates with it so I think it already has movement potential. Maybe some slight variation of Live Your Legend would work well? Or stay consistent by using similar, yet powerful “L” words and phrases that would still identify with LYL?
Maybe something along the lines of:
1. Legacy Leaders
2. Legendary Leaders
3. Living Legends Loving Their Labour
4. League of Legendary Leaders
5. Live Your Labour of Love
6. Leaders Living Legacies
7. Love Your Labour
8. Legendary Lives or Legendary Living
9. Living Legacies
10. Live a Legendary Life
Or something like that. That’s my $0.02 🙂
Michele Loomis
Posted at 13:19h, 08 NovemberSharing Our Unique Legends (SOUL) People’s lives are too cuaght up in feeding and sharing with one anothers brains and sense. We do not do enough to feed and share our souls. Although this is the first post I have read on this site, I read Zenhabits regularly and feel this is the essence of what your movement means.
7dev
Posted at 13:50h, 08 NovemberExemplars of Legend
Max
Posted at 16:12h, 08 NovemberHi Scott & Community,
my proposal is : iLegend
respectfully
max
Nicole Ives
Posted at 19:17h, 08 NovemberMy thinking is that this movement / revolution is ultimately about our very survival because it is pretty well acknowledged that we can’t just go on with the status quo and make it. So my ideas centre around the following:
1. Connecting and reaching out to others
2. Being engaged and participating in life
3. Being fired up
4. Making a difference
GOBEYOND
GAMECHANGE
Sarah
Posted at 19:51h, 08 NovemberScott,
I was going to suggest LegendMakers but LivingLegends jumps out at me the most from the suggestions.
I like how it suggests that everyone can be a legend right now! Alive, passionate and legendary while being a great extension of your website name.
Still loving your site and the consistently fabulous content! Your vision and passion continues to be incredibly inspiring. Thanks!!!
🙂
md rafi shaik
Posted at 03:19h, 09 Novembernice.am proud of u.
md rafi shaik
Posted at 03:20h, 09 Novembernice .am proud of u
David Catterson
Posted at 07:49h, 09 NovemberHi Scott,
Firstly i would just like to say excellent work on the CWA course. Extremely powerful stuff and really well structured. As for the name of the movement, the movers and its slogan how about:
Passion Stokers – Do Work That Sets You on Fire!
Passion knows no limits – Why should you?
I love the ‘Passion Riot’ suggestion from an earlier post and i still do think that ‘Living Legends’ is really effective at capturing the cause.
Keep pushing boundaries everyone!
Guest
Posted at 16:45h, 09 NovemberIs your TED talk online yet?
Juliet
Posted at 22:36h, 09 NovemberHello Scott,
You wrote that when you listen to MC Yogi’s ‘Be the Change’, you believe that anything is possible; put another way, no boundaries, no limits.
I believe the revolution you have begun reaches people at their core, celebrating the instinct for self-preservation – whether active or dormant – and honouring the deep-seated desire to write our own never-ending life stories. There are no limits when we live with authenticity and in service to others.
“Live Your Legend is a powerful name and brand to embody our beliefs and vision” and we are ‘limitless’.
Sincerely,
Juliet
Austin
Posted at 18:38h, 10 NovemberI have started my own revolution, which follows most of the same principles as yours.
My revolution is intended to foster a sense of community between the different groups of disabled people worldwide.
People who aren’t soma / neurotypical need, more than most, the hope that comes from belonging to something greater than just oneself.
Danielle Cohn
Posted at 08:39h, 11 NovemberHi Scott,
Love what you are up to! I’ve been carrying a little notebook around for 2 years with ChangeMakers on the cover. I write down people I hear speak or am inspired by and try to meet-up with them with just one or two connections. You were added to the book 3 weeks ago when someone shared your site with me. So I’m voting for ChangeMakers who Live Out Loud!
Jim Krenz
Posted at 09:53h, 11 NovemberHere are some that appeal to me:
The Legacy League
The Limitless Legends
The Luminous Legends
The Lovable Legends
The Legendary Lieutenants
The Legendary Lifeguards
The Legendary Lifesavers
The Legendary Lifestylers
The Legendary Legionnaires
The Legendary Liberationists
Gonzalo
Posted at 13:29h, 11 NovemberJajaja scott!! Some stuff to read here?
In opposition to ‘Walking Dead’:
Walking Legends
Un abrazo!!
Aisha
Posted at 13:45h, 11 November“The living” because we are “ALLive”
Katie Sing
Posted at 21:31h, 11 NovemberLoving all these ideas!
What are your thoughts on:
Change Lighters
or
Light Changers
– Changing just one light in a room will cause things to be experienced differently by everyone
-The people doing the work (the life handymen/handywomen)
– Sharing your light (positive energy) creates more light (positive energy)
– Light is a life force energy necessary for continued existence
– We love light!
Turning this:
How many people does it take to change a light bulb?
Into this:
How many light bulbs (people) can be changed by members of this community?
Sunny regards,
Katie
David
Posted at 07:21h, 12 NovemberScott,
Long ago I read something that struck home with me, the source now long forgotten. It said, the best thing that each of us can do to change the world is tend our part of the garden. This is something that I try to do every single day. If each one of us do just that, we can change the world. I’m doing my best to tend may little part.
Adrian Clark Price
Posted at 19:31h, 13 NovemberMy thoughts… The essence of Living Your Legend is to live a life free of perceived constraints on your ability to enjoy life… yes?
Ok given this is what we are talking about, most of us feel trapped in some way and feel that it is beyond our control just like a caged chicken… Soooo why not start a movement to break our of our cages through the ‘Free Range Human’ movement and live your own personal legend…. Our cages are only a perception of our minds or conditioning so if you start your own revolution, you soon discover that you have the key to your own cage and your potential is easily unlocked!
Step one – recognise your own personal cage and how it is holding you back.
Step two – Commit to change and becoming a ‘Free Range Human’
Step three – Change your direction to live your own legend and work improve your situation 1 percent each day!
RESULT – Fly with happy eagles instead of scratching around in a cage until the threat of death shows you the regret of not changing when you could… so don’t wait! Make the change and become a FREE RANGE HUMAN today because tomorrow is too late as tomorrow never comes!
Not convinced? Ask yourself when was the last time you felt happy to go to work for no pay? When you enjoy what you do it really isn’t about the money.
And can you remember your last happy memory? What were you doing?
brand
Posted at 23:02h, 22 DecemberHello dude , good post and I truly do appreciate mistress and power of dominion thank you and article more!
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Posted at 10:38h, 15 January[…] A message becomes a movement when every member of the mission becomes its leader. And when everyone starts to lead, a revolution begins. Thanks, Steve […]
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Posted at 18:25h, 28 January[…] few months ago we wrote a post titled From Message to Movement, where I asked you all to chime in to name our movement. After looking through countless comments, […]
Tom Olofsson
Posted at 07:59h, 29 JanuaryI’m in.
Jasmine Phua
Posted at 08:13h, 30 JanuaryI’m in! 🙂 and I’ll grow my kids up as living legends too!
Jackie Hinton
Posted at 10:54h, 26 JulyGreat article I’m giong to follow your blog. Its exactly what i am trying to do with my life to be the change i wnat to see in the world.Bravo!!!!
Deep
Posted at 23:19h, 21 SeptemberChoose to be Legend
Deep
Posted at 23:49h, 21 SeptemberChoose to be Happy
Olmy Olm
Posted at 10:42h, 10 AugustHow can one deal emotionally with the abuse that inevitably follows if you are passionate about an idea that most people hate and want to prevent from spreading?