What will they write on your headstone?
An argument for making sure you have a good catchphrase
Do you have a catchphrase?
A sentence or two that people recognize as frequently and fervently coming from you more than any other individual that they know?
If you don’t, you should.
A catchphrase is a large concept that you firmly believe in, which you think has repeated applicability in your life, condensed down into its purest wisdom. It is an essence of your value system, and can outlive you through being absorbed by others. A catchphrase is part of your legacy. A signet ring mark that stamps your presence.
The same catchphrase can be attributed to people in different ways. “A penny saved is a penny earned” elicits different feelings coming from Ebenezer Scrooge than from Warren Buffet. Your words will bring up memories of how you brought them to life, so reflect on which values you want to be symbols of your wisdom.
If you don’t have a catchphrase, or can’t think of one that isn’t a joke, you likely have not crystallized your unshakable beliefs and values. Do you have principles beyond an amorphous blob? Can you state anything that you believe to be true in all instances? Can you take a stand for anything?
You have one life and it deserves to be sculpted with respect. Don’t fail yourself by letting ‘Zoinks’ be the noise that most regularly came from your mouth, leaving no foundational direction for your kids beyond a chuckle.
In a recent episode of the podcast Dialectic, Jackson Dahl interviewed Ryo Lu, the Head of Design at Cursor. If you’re into AI, it’s a great listen, but the value is way beyond that. Throughout the episode, Jackson brought up multiple catchphrases of Ryo’s, which he has curated across several high-level, influential positions.
Things like “It’s all the same thing”, a simple phrase with an underlying depth that comes from deep, careful work across massive platforms. Ryo said these words often enough, to enough people, educating them on how data is the base layer of a system and everything else is just a game of dress up, that it became an aura. A lens through which he understood and affected the digital interactions of tens of millions of users. One that others came to see through as well. This phrase was a foundational understanding of his world construct and a representation of his impact, and will continue to spread through his mentees.
That was only one of several of Ryo Lu’s catchphrases, and not even the best one.
It is said that the master knows all the rules, so they know when to break them. Simplicity works the same way. Only a wealth of knowledge and immersion in a topic can boil it down to a reduction that makes sense, and usually sounds so simple that it could come from a novice. Just like the midwit meme, the beginner knows only the basics, the moderate mistakes complexity for knowledge, but the master recreates simplicity with the genius of when and how to apply it. A catchphrase is an earned belief, carefully measured, observed, and tested across various situations, and found to consistently represent the world as you see it.
Up to this point in my life, I have continually found two things to be true and my family is sick of me saying them. Yet every single time I ask my young niece-
“What’s rule number 1?”,
she responds with “Always be grateful”.
Then she follows up with the answer of “Solve your own problems” when I request rule number two.
Two rules, two responses, said over and over again. I firmly believe that those two rules will do more towards granting contentment in life than any other two phrases in the English language, and I stand by it in every situation. I could give a full presentation on each rule, but all I need to say are the seven words that compose them and every individual can extrapolate out from there. I will ask my niece those same questions for as long as this universe allows me to be present, and trust that she tests them in her own life. Maybe she finds them to be junk, but they will be a representation of me and I will consciously choose to live by them so that the words have strength coming from her mouth. Living my own life without gratitude or never solving my own problems will only result in them falling limply from her tongue, and leaving a slimy residue behind.
If you haven’t yet, take the time to consider your fundamental beliefs. Make them complex, then find the through-line back to simplicity. Test them over and over, pushing to find when they crack. Build them back up again in new ways that make sense. Find what resonates with you and then bring those words to life through your actions. Do not waver. Your catchphrases are your verbal legacy and they deserve to be great.
With love, from me to you,
Alec (for now)
Note: No AI was used to write, edit, or otherwise modify this article.