Your One Word

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

In the book of Evan Carmichael, “Your One Word”, he proposes the idea of coming up with a one word that describes yourself and your passion.  Evan Carmichael himself came up with a one word about himself and his company as “Believe”.  Evan is a business start-up adviser and he used to describe his company as “Helping you Build the Company of your Dreams” and he also thought of “Motivation and Strategies for Entrepreneurs” but the lines doesn’t give him the kick that pushes his passion to help entrepreneurs.  After some journaling exercise, he came up with the one word “Believe” which worked like magic.  He “believes” that his business exists to help entrepreneurs, “believe” in what they were doing, “believe” they could do it and “believe” it would work.  It made him more excited to run his company because of the hope and creativity the word could generate for himself and for his start-up clients.

Winston Churchill said, “All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in one word.”  During World War II, Winston Churchill had to come up with a one word to fuel the British people with the long and devastating battle with the Nazis.  He declared “And what is our one word? Victory. Victory at all costs.  Victory in spite of all terrors.  Victory however long and hard the road maybe.  For without victory there is no survival.”

What are the benefits of describing yourself or your business into one word?  First, it becomes your steady source of motivation.  When you feel like you are encountering a dip in your motivation, or you are not getting the results or you’re encountering some obstacle, your one word would be your reminder of why you do what you do.  It’s your reason for existing and therefore a motivation for pressing on because of that sense of purpose.  Second, it makes easy for your clients to remember what your company stands for.  Steve Jobs made it apparent that his company Apple and its products would be remembered for its “elegance.”  He said, “It’s a noisy world. We’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. And so, we have to be really clear on what we want them to know about us.”

How do we come up with the one word about ourselves?  Think of what are your favorite books and what do they have in common.  Recall your favorite movies and what is common with them.  What has been a constant interest in your life?  What do you seem never to get bored of?  Of the people you enjoy being around, what personality traits do they have in common?  If you can’t generate that one word right away, sleep over it and let your subconscious help you.

For me, I came up with my one word as “Virtue”.  When I thought of starting to write news articles, the first idea that came into mind on the topics I wanted to write about was virtue.  I thought our society needs to revisit the need for virtue because that’s how we will fully reach our human potential and be the man or woman God intended us to be.