My mom recently shared some new vocabulary for being ill. Instead of saying “I’m sick”, she says, “I’m having an immunity upgrade!”

So you could say I’ve been having an immunity upgrade the last few days 😂

.

.

In 1987’s The Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya is remembered for the iconic line:

“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

And while I don’t condone vengeance, this line basically contains the secret to life.

As he’s bleeding out after being stabbed by Count Tyrone, he almost gives up… even whispers “I’m sorry father… I tried”.

Suddenly he struggles back to his feet and repeats the famous line again.

“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

Over, and over, and over again.

Each time, it seems to fill him with more strength than the last.

A few sword clinks and some villain banter later, he goes all Zoro on the Count and “sends him to heaven” as my dad would say.

3 simple statements saved his life and helped accomplish his mission!

So what is going on with this line?

Every repetition of these words is a declaration of identity, a statement of truth, and a clarification of purpose.

Identity. Truth. Purpose.

You could also think of it as your most bite-size version of:

• Who am I?

• What do I believe?

• What am I gonna do about it?

Don’t those sound like the 3 biggest challenges the human race is facing these days?

Whether its:

• complete confusion about self identity, if not at least doubt

• believing there’s no such thing as truth, or not knowing where to find it

• or a lack of purpose, worried about finding purpose, or having explicitely evil purposes.

In my church I volunteer to work with the youth who recite their own “theme” at each meeting that follows the same formula: Identity, Truth, Purpose.

Hearing them say it is powerful.

Most existential, relational, and even logistical issues we face and life would either be solved or completely avoided, had we simply been clear about who we are, precisely what we believe to be true, and what our purpose or intentions are in life.

Here’s my first attempt at writing my own:

Marie Forleo gets 100% credit on the “Everything Is Figureoutable” line. She literally wrote the book on it!

I’ll probably continue to iterate on this, but not gonna lie… there is some serious power in stating 3 simple things like this when I’m in a pinch, starting to doubt, or struggling for motivation.

Few things are more powerful than a reminder of who I am, something I know to be true, and what I’m gonna do about it.

What’s your Inigo Montoya statement? Hit reply and let me know! I can’t wait to read what you come up with 🙂 

..

.

Try it

Write your own personal identity, truth, purpose statement.

When your having a hard day, use it.

When you need some extra courage, use it.

When Count Tyrone tries to delete your life, use it!

.

.

.

- Kody

.

.

P.S. This took 5 hours to research, write, and design. It only takes you 5 seconds to share.