One day few months back, I was scrolling down my Facebook home page. I was delighted to see a huge reference being made to Life Signatures by a person I consider a total stranger. This ‘stranger’ had word for word quoted me on the subject, ‘Components of a Life Signature’. I was surprised and pleased by this.

Have you ever wondered where quotes come from? Wouldn’t it be nice to have your very words, the words that really mean a lot to you, be on people’s lips all over the world? How does a guy like Albert Einstein get quoted widely and even wildly world-wide? Recently, one Lupital Nyong’o got lots of notoriety when she said the now famous words, and I paraphrase:

“No matter where you come from, your dreams are valid”!

I know, I know. We have speech writers and professional wordsmiths that are employed sometimes to come up with lovely quotes but I can tell you this: If your quote is not from your story, or something you are passionate about…we will know! That’s just about all I will say in that direction.

The following are 5 simple ways that you can get quoted.

1. Do something:

Do something other than talk! Of late, I have been mesmerized by Mohammed Ali’s comments. His words needles to say, are not empty. They are backed greatly by what he did. Not only did he become the youngest undisputed heavy weight boxing champion, he also refused to go fight in Vietnam for what he believed was a wrong cause. Ali was a loud mouthed guy to say the least, but that mouth was not empty I assure you! If you want to gain notoriety, you need to do something that makes a difference in lot’s of people’s lives. Something that inspires courage, hope or reminds the world of the tenacity of the human soul. Here is the secret: Do not do this to get quoted!

People quote those with an authority on a subject. Sometimes what they are being quoted for might not be that profound, but just the fact that it is them who said it, it would be given lot’s of weight. Sometimes, they themselves would not even be thinking about it as a quotable quote!!

2. Become an Authority:

Why do we quote a lot of Jim Rohn’s words? How about Albert Einstein, Tony Robbins, TD Jakes, Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, Brian Tracy, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Oprah Winfrey, Ali Mazrui…and on and on the list goes? The quoted ones simply were authorities on a subject or a discipline to such an extend that the subject was synonymous with their names. We quote Hellen Keller because she is an authority in the subject of Human Potential and adversity. If you can find something for which you can concentrate your life championing, chances are that one day you will be quoted. Can I tell you another secret? Do not become an authority so you can be quoted!

3. Speak your heart out:

If you go out there seeking to be quoted…speaking specifically for that cause, you have lost it. However, if you will again and again, speak what is in your heart, what you feel strongly about, chances are that from your speech, words worth repeating will emanate. Passionate people attract people. The likes of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jnr, and Nelson Mandela are few cases of people who spoke what they were passionate about.  Here is the catch though, all these guys never set out to be quoted. They just did what they knew and felt strongly that it mattered not just to them but also to the world.

4. Make your content accessible:

Where can we find your “works”? A lot of people these days are thriving on other people’s quotes. They have none of their own, and even if they did, they do not give lots of attention to it. In short, you ought to have a personal platform from which people can access your ‘heart’ as it were. Such platforms include social media, books, radio programs, podcasts, and even personal quotations catalogs themselves. One renown African entrepreneur is called Strive Masiyiwa. He has a Facebook fanpage where he shares his heart out about his exploits in entrepreneurship. He has chosen that unique approach and it works better than a website. All in all, it is a platform and he is using it well and he is using it consistently.

5. Get a Personal Brand:

Now, just to set the record straight, I think the issue of personal branding is being misused of late…where people are concentrating on ‘their brand’ more than they should on their products and services. Personal branding should not be compartmentalized from what you are and what you do. That being said, there is a lot traction gained with a Personal Brand than without one. With a personal brand, you position yourself to be known for something you are passionate about…it goes hand in hand with the first point. You do something and you let people tell others what you do. That is personal branding. I have quoted my friend Ngina Otiende several times because of her brand: Speaking to Newly weds. Everyone has a brand, and so do you. The thing that needs to be done is to own it and show it. This is where you get deliberate on what you want people to say about you by saying it yourself. Do this with the intention of being quoted and I have no problem with it.

So there you have it. In the next post, I will catalog 21 top quotes from Life Signatures. Stay tuned.

Question: What is your favorite quote of all time?