You know those catchy phrases that get stuck in your brain? Nike's Just Do It instantly comes to mind, as does LG's Life Is Good. These slogans are punchy, memorable, and wonderfully motivational.
They can be the perfect compass to snap you back on track when you're deep in creative work and wondering why you ever thought it would be easy.
In past years, I’ve relied on a personal motto to maintain my own creative mojo. In 2024, it was Leap!—fitting for a leap year and for jumping into new territory. For 2025, I adopted Making Waves! Both phrases reminded me to take action and strive to make a meaningful impact.
My creative juices produced hugely favorable results in 2025, and I attribute much of that success to inspiration coming from Making Waves. With the new year rapidly approaching, I felt the need for a new phrase to keep the creative momentum soaring.
The search has been surprisingly satisfying, and it occurred to me that you might be interested in the method behind the motto. In this post, I’ll share the far from magical process I followed to find the right words to craft my personal tagline.
Finding Your Mojo-Inspiring Motto
We all have far too much on our plates already, and the last thing we need is to add "motivational sloganeering" to our list of worries. But here’s the good news: what I'm about to share is genuinely fun.
Most importantly, it’s not just a fun exercise; a good motto does some serious heavy lifting throughout the year. For example:
When the work gets hard, your motto reminds you why you chose your creative pursuit (and it always gets hard). Your inspiration phrase also serves to keep your decisions aligned with your core values.
The New Year is already set to become a juggling act for me. I’m currently producing the Happy Cats Wellness podcast, and I'll continue blogging while developing a new podcast called An Artist's Journey. Of course, Princess Amy and I will be up to our necks documenting film and television production here in Hollywood East. Sometimes I wonder how I manage it all, but even if I do it poorly, the motto helps me keep doing it.
Evolution, Not Revolution
I started my recent search for the 2026 mojo-motto, hoping for one of those perfect moments where the ideal phrase leaps fully formed into my mind, like Athena springing from Zeus's head. (Although I preferred to avoid the headache that followed for Zeus!)
That Athena moment didn’t happen.
Instead, I started throwing ideas around. I knew I wanted something short and punchy—two or three words max--and I wanted something full of energy—active, not passive. Whatever I chose had to work for all my various projects and pursuits.
I began by considering phrases that already resonate with me. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous encourages us to live "happy, joyous, and free.” It's a beautiful sentiment, but nine words is more of a manifesto, rather than a motto. My martial arts tagline, "Fierce Qigong!" is punchy, but it’s tied to that specific context.
The Exploration Phase
The first round of brainstorming produced some interesting candidates that were close, but not quite right:
- Journey On felt natural for my blog and the new podcast. It had forward momentum, but seemed to lack an edge.
- Bold Strokes had appeal, suggesting confidence and strong action. It fit most of my projects, but seemed a stretch for podcasting.
- Create Freedom was closely connected to being "happy, joyous, and free," but it lacked punch.
This is where the process got truly interesting. Instead of feeling frustrated, I was drawn to the feelings in some of the imperfect options:
Journey On had the right subject, but the verb was too passive. Bold Strokes had the right energy, but wasn't universal. Create Freedom spoke to my core values, but lacked punch.
I started moving words around just to see what would come out of it: Journey Bold, Journey Fierce, Own the Journey, Journey Alive.
And that’s when it happened—not a literal lightning bolt, but a definite spark. Randomly combining words led me to the phrase that instantly stuck, just like those catchy slogans mentioned at the top of this post:
Live the Journey!
It has everything I was looking for: the active commitment, the edge, and the sense of being fully present and engaged with the entire process.
It works across all my projects. It works as both an invitation to myself and a declaration to the world. And when I say it out loud, something in me simply says, ‘Yes!’.
Living With It
Here’s the thing about finding your perfect motto: you have to 'wear it' for a while, like breaking in a new pair of jeans. I decided to wear Live the Journey for a few days before making a final decision. I wanted to know how it felt while editing a podcast, drafting a blog post, or planning to track a movie production crew.
Your Turn
If you’re thinking about creating your own creative motto for 2026 (or any time, really), here’s the process that worked for me:
- Start with Brainstorming: Write down everything that comes to mind. There are no bad ideas here.
- Look for Patterns: What words or ideas keep appearing?
- Play with Word Order: Take the subject from one option and pair it with the verb from another. Be aware of words or ideas that arise from other words. The word ‘fierce’ in my martial arts slogan, sparked the idea of ‘bold’, which led to ‘Journey Bold.’
- Test Variations: Say them out loud. Imagine using them when the work gets difficult. How do they feel?
- Trust Your Gut: You'll know it when you find it—it will just feel right.
Making It Real
Write your motto where you’ll see it every day—at your desk, on a whiteboard, or on your phone’s background. When making decisions, ask yourself if your choice aligns with the values represented by your motto.
Share your motto with others or keep it close to your heart. Both ideas are valid. The motto is YOUR personal compass, not a marketing campaign. If at any time, you feel it has lost its mojo, adjust it. The point is to support your work, not constrain it.
Living the Creative Life
For 2026, I’m going to "Live the Journey." I will stay fully present in my creative work, embracing the messiness, and remembering that enjoying the journey is more important than the art.
If you decided to craft a motto for your creative work, share it in the comments. Let's inspire each other as we step into the New Year.
Here’s to 2026. May you find the words that truly move you forward.
Write your motto where you’ll see it every day—at your desk, on a whiteboard, or on your phone’s background. When making decisions, ask yourself if your choice aligns with the values represented by your motto.
Share your motto with others or keep it close to your heart. Both ideas are valid. The motto is YOUR personal compass, not a marketing campaign. If at any time, you feel it has lost its mojo, adjust it. The point is to support your work, not constrain it.
Living the Creative Life
For 2026, I’m going to "Live the Journey." I will stay fully present in my creative work, embracing the messiness, and remembering that enjoying the journey is more important than the art.
If you decided to craft a motto for your creative work, share it in the comments. Let's inspire each other as we step into the New Year.
Here’s to 2026. May you find the words that truly move you forward.
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