How I Wrote My Personal Manifesto: Built For The Game

The Built For The Game Manifesto is my declaration for winning in the game of entrepreneurship and life. It encapsulates the mantras, declarations, and quotes that form the bedrock of my mindset, way of being, and roadmap for creation. These powerful statements are not just words, they are the foundation of who I am and how I show up every day.

This personal manifesto is born from my relentless pursuit of excellence and my unwavering commitment to personal growth. It reflects my belief that success is not just about reaching the destination but about embracing the journey with passion, resilience, and integrity. The inspiration behind it comes from a deep desire to live a life of purpose, impact, and fulfillment.

By sharing this personal manifesto, I aim to inspire you to create your own path, driven by your unique vision and values. It’s a testament to the power of intentional living, a guide to navigating the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship and life with unwavering clarity and conviction.

My Personal Manifesto Journey

Eleven years ago, I purchased the Holstee Manifesto. It spoke to me with an undeniable energy. The words resonated deeply, and I felt an immediate connection. Recognizing its potential to uplift and inspire, I hung it in my bathroom, ensuring I saw it multiple times a day. This daily awareness became a positive drip, gradually enhancing my mindset. Through consistency, I filled my head with empowering thoughts, which significantly improved my outlook on life and journey as an entrepreneur.

As someone who loves to dive deep into new, different, and challenging things, the concept of a personal manifesto intrigued me. Last year I created my 3 Year Vivid Vision after reading Cameron Herold’s book, and the impact it had on me has been life changing and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. If Holstee could create such a powerful tool for personal growth with their manifesto, I believed I can too.

In July during Freedom Year—a 12-month exploration of creating freedom in life as part of Unlimited Coach—we focused on Freedom of Choice. This theme emphasized independence, autonomy, and creating our own rules. For our growth game, we each committed to writing our own personal manifesto within three weeks. This challenge was the catalyst for me to create my own personal manifesto, driven by a desire to articulate my beliefs, values, and aspirations clearly and powerfully.

Through this journey, I found the commitment and inspiration to write my own personal manifesto, the Built For The Game Manifesto. It became a reflection of my mindset, my way of being, and my roadmap for creation. It stands as a testament to who I am and how I show up every day, embodying my dedication to excellence, growth, and impact.

How I Wrote My Personal Manifesto

Creating my personal manifesto was an empowering and transformative journey. It involved deep introspection, creativity, and strategic thinking.

This section will take you through my step-by-step process, from the initial brainstorming session to overcoming design challenges and finally creating a visually striking and deeply personal document.

My hope is that by sharing this journey, you’ll feel inspired and equipped to write your manifesto, tailored to your unique vision and values. Let’s dive in and explore the process that turned my aspirations into a powerful representation of who I am and how I show up every day.

Brainstorming Session

The journey began with a brainstorming session where I wrote down the first quotes, mantras, and I AM statements that came to mind. Many of these were already part of my life or morning routine, so I ensured I included the best of the best. I documented these in a Personal Manifesto document in Evernote.

Leveraging My Second Brain

Next I dove into my Second Brain in Evernote, searching for “quotes” and “mantras.” As a student of self-development, I had amassed a big list of over 200 quotes. I scanned through them, pulling out those that resonated most and added them to the document. This became my playground for creating my personal manifesto.

Personal Connection

Throughout the process, the words I included were deeply personal. Each phrase had a connection to something I learned, experienced, or spoke to the best version of who I am as an entrepreneur, coach, and creator. Every new phrase I added gave me a rush of positive energy and inspiration, making the act of creating the manifesto even more powerful and fun.

Overcoming Design Challenges

Since I didn’t know anyone who had written a personal manifesto, I had to create the process on my own. The biggest challenge was the visual and graphic design aspect, even though I have some skills in this area. To overcome this, I audited the Holstee Manifesto. I asked myself “how did they create this as if was paint by numbers?” I counted the number of phrases they included (17), how many rows vertically (22), as well as the maximum number of words horizontally (9). This gave me some loose structure of which I could build off of and shape to my own liking.

Seeking Assistance From AI

I turned to ChatGPT, providing context about my personal manifesto and asking for design tips for making it visually appealing. This is when new ideas got unlocked and momentum started to pick up. I could begin to see the framework for how this could be incredible when it gave me things to think about like:

  • Typography (aka fonts + sizes)
  • Alignment (consistent, left, centered, justified)
  • Spacing (how much between lines)
  • Contrast (bold vs not bold)
  • Consistency (consistent style throughout)

Designing in Canva

Armed with a focused framework, I created a new design in Canva, sized 18×24 inches. I planned on printing this manifesto out so I wanted to use the exact dimensions in the design.

I started by placing the first 14 phrases onto a blank canvas. This initial version looked messy and unorganized, but it was an essential step. So often we see an end result of something and think it was easy and pretty. This wasn’t. I shared this draft with my Unlimited community to demonstrate the importance of Messy Action in the creative process.

Establishing Visual Hierarchy

A significant breakthrough came when I asked ChatGPT if it could help me structure and design the words formulaically, as if it was paint by numbers. What Holstee created was visually pristine so they set the bar high. I knew that I could just move the words and phrases around Canva, but I wanted another level of strategic structure and thoughtful design. This is where the next massive lightbulb moment happened. ChatGPT gave the suggestion to “establish a visual hierarchy”, putting my manifesto phrases in three categories:

  • Primary Messages: Largest and boldest fonts for the most important messages.
  • Secondary Messages: Slightly smaller fonts for supporting ideas.
  • Tertiary Messages: Regular or italic fonts for less critical phrases.

Categorizing my manifesto phrases made the design process smoother and more logical.

Iterative Design Process

I began with the primary messages, making them prominent. Then I added the sentences, which took up the most space, followed by the tertiary messages. I moved phrases around like a puzzle, ensuring they fit well and resonated with each other. This took the most time because I would often unintentionally back myself into a corner. I’d try and put a phrase or sentence in a space where it was sandwiched in, or it created an odd shape that made it hard to put something else in there.

I was also aware that I did not want massive white holes as that wouldn’t be visually appealing. Early on I noticed this happening right in the center of my canvas where I know I’d look at the most. Because of this I had to be intentional about this area specifically, because it was the focal point of the piece.

Adding Structure

A major lightbulb moment came when I decided to add a border to the canvas. The Holstee Manifesto had a clean rectangle with an inch of white space around it, which I wanted to replicate. Adding this border provided me with guardrails to keep the design contained.

Following that, I introduced a grid to the canvas. Given my emphasis on consistency and legibility, I knew a structured approach was crucial. The grid immediately became a vital part of my design process, allowing me to control the height of each word or phrase and determine how much space it occupied horizontally.

This approach transformed the canvas into a visual puzzle, like assembling Lego blocks, giving me clear direction in the design.

Overcoming Creative Challenges

Even with all the structure in place, the process of creating my personal manifesto was creatively challenging. To manage this, I broke the work into one-hour sessions, often at night after my 2 year old son went to bed. This approach allowed me to stay in the creative energy and maintain steady progress. I knew this project would require multiple steps, so I intentionally designed my action plan to keep chipping away, session by session.

It was also important to be energetically aware of when I was working on this, because it required presence and creativity. I knew that sandwiching this project between other tasks on my Get To Do List wouldn’t create the flow I wanted. So I gave it the proper space it deserved, ensuring I could approach it with full focus and the right mindset.

Finalizing the Design

After five one-hour sessions of focused creating, I had what I thought was a finalized design. To ensure everything was precise, I zoomed in on the canvas to carefully check the alignment of the text both horizontally and vertically. I asked myself “Is this Clean?”, “Does this Flow?”, and “Is there enough white space?” Once those details were buttoned up I deleted the border and grid and saw my personal manifesto.

When I saw the completed design I immediately fell in love with it. The energy, heart, and soul of the manifesto resonated deeply with me. I knew that this would become one of the most powerful things I had ever created—a vital tool for cultivating my world champion mindset.

Naming the Manifesto

The final step was naming my personal manifesto, and I wanted it to resonate deeply with me while inspiring others. My podcast, Built For The Game, shares tips for winning the game of entrepreneurship and life, reflecting my brick-by-brick journey of earning confidence and building my path.

Built For The Game isn’t just a phrase, it’s a mindset, a lifestyle, and a way of being that defines how you show up every day. It captures the essence of what it takes to navigate challenges, pursue massive dreams, and be all-in on your journey.

As I thought about others who are on a similar path, I knew this name would speak to them. It embodies the DNA of what makes us the best.

Printing and Displaying

With the design complete, I updated the footer with “Built For The Game Manifesto”, a link to this blog post so others could have a deeper experience, and my digital signature.

From the start, my goal was clear: I wanted to replace the Holstee Manifesto in my bathroom with my Built For The Game Manifesto. This was about living powerfully from my own words, just as the Holstee Manifesto had inspired me for so many years.

I went into Canva, chose the ideal size—medium, 18×24 inches—on mounted paper, and selected the Portrait, 3:4 option. For $29 and a 5-7 day wait, I knew this would soon be a daily reminder of the mindset, lifestyle, and values that drive me forward.

TL;DR: How do I write my personal manifesto?

  • Brainstorming Session: Started by jotting down key quotes, mantras, and declarations that were already part of my life.
  • Leveraging My Second Brain: Searched through over 200 quotes and mantras in Evernote, creating a rich foundation for my manifesto.
  • Personal Connection: Selected phrases deeply connected to my experiences and aspirations, making the process inspiring and empowering.
  • Overcoming Design Challenges: Audited the Holstee Manifesto for structural inspiration and sought design advice from ChatGPT to create a visually appealing layout.
  • Designing in Canva: Used Canva to draft the design, emphasizing the importance of messy action and refining through iteration.
  • Establishing Visual Hierarchy: Organized phrases into primary, secondary, and tertiary categories to create a structured and cohesive design.
  • Adding Structure: Added a border and grid to the canvas for consistency and legibility, treating the design like a visual puzzle.
  • Overcoming Creative Challenges: Managed the creative process with one-hour focused sessions, ensuring presence and energy for each step.
  • Finalizing the Design: After refining the details, I achieved a design that resonated deeply with me, capturing the energy and soul of my journey.
  • Naming the Manifesto: Named it the “Built For The Game Manifesto,” reflecting the mindset, lifestyle, and way of being necessary to succeed.
  • Printing and Displaying: Chose a medium-sized, 18×24 inch mounted print via Canva, aiming to replace the Holstee Manifesto in my bathroom with my own powerful declaration.

Take Action On Writing Your Personal Manifesto

Creating the Built For The Game Manifesto has been the gift that keeps on giving—a powerful asset I will carry with me for the rest of my life. While the process was creatively challenging (in a good way), it allowed me to flex my creativity, adaptability, and attention to detail. It also reinforced the importance of creating a process and taking consistent action.

Just like entrepreneurship, this experience reminded me that it’s about appreciating the journey, not just focusing on the destination. By setting the intention, making it a priority, and staying committed, you end up with something you’re proud of, which makes you love it even more.

I want to empower you to write your own personal manifesto. Imagine having a daily reminder of your core beliefs, values, and the vision you have for your life. This manifesto will not only guide your actions but also inspire you to show up as your best self every day. The impact it can create in your life is infinite.

If you’re ready to go on this adventure and would like some support or a partner in the process, I’m here to help. Let’s jump on a call and bring your vision to life.

Creating Unlimited

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