WWjD Mission Joseph Campaign
To our newfound friends.
The love and support we have received is so very much appreciated. We are grateful to our community of friends for helping to spread the word about our brand, and our mission. We appreciate those who understand why LIVESEMPER FI and the Mission Joseph campaign are so important, and we are thankful for the support that makes this journey possible.
Consider making your first purchase a gift. We love when others tell us their introduction to LSF was a gift. We enjoy being known as “the brand worn by those that others think and care about”.
Your purchase below, or contribution, will help us to launch our main website and continue our mission. For those still requesting information about how we began, please read below to learn more about our origins, and discover why LIVESEMPER FI and Mission Joseph mean so much to us.
“My dream is to make my father and mother proud and change the world, and to do well by doing good.”
Biography & Origins
LIVESEMPER FI clothing and apparel has a mission to do well, by doing good. Our goal is to bring to your life quality, inspiration, and motivation. We encourage you to refocus, take risks, challenge yourself, and embrace LIVESEMPER FI as a reminder to stay always faithful and connected to your true vision and purpose.
My name is Cy, and I am an owner and founder of LIVESEMPER FI clothing and apparel, and we are on a mission.
It is my pleasure to introduce LIVESEMPER FI to our online community. Taking risks is never easy, but I am strengthened and encouraged whenever I discover others who have found the courage to create and share their own life’s vision. We invite you to join us on our journey. Up until this moment, I have been doing all I can to find you.
Thank you for finding me. With your help, together we will change the world.
Contribute & Receive a Gift
Show your support by purchasing one of the gifts from our Mission Joseph Campaign below. Pay the minimum, or contribute more if you like. Although we are not a non-profit, your support will allow us to continue and spread positive messages of strength, unity and hope. Help us continue to bring us together.
If you would like to submit a different amount, please click the link below.
We want to build a great brand with meaning that is endorsed by – you.
We want to discard discord and divisions and highlight causes that are important to all of us and show that there are still things that bring us together, things that we can all still agree on, and we desire to create a positive and sustainable legacy.
That is why we are using our first campaign to highlight a persistent malady familiar to us all—fatherlessness. The absence of fathers and father figures is a blight on our families and culture, so we wanted to play a part in displaying a different vision.
We know it is not enough to continually declare the importance of fatherhood. All men must individually accept and acknowledge that fact for themselves. Every man who accepts his responsibility to lead must understand his equally important responsibility to serve. The greatest leaders are the greatest servants. Therefore, when we ask if our families are being well led, we should also ask if they are being well served.
At LIVESEMPER FI we recognize and accept that there are many good men serving every day, but in our culture today they are often invisible. That is why Mission Joseph was born, and we invite men of all ages and backgrounds—and women who support them—to join us.
Please follow and support us by wearing LIVESEMPER FI caps and shirts with the signature LSF, Anchor and WWjD logos as often as possible. But especially, we are asking for three special days of visibility during which we ask everyone to wear the shirts: Join us each and every year on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the day after Thanksgiving.
Why Joseph?
Those who know the story of Mary and Joseph remember that Joseph proclaimed the importance of both motherhood and fatherhood without uttering a word. One of the greatest gifts a man can bestow upon his children is to trust, respect, and love their mother. This is what Joseph modeled for us. He showed his love and protection—his fatherhood—with his actions. Like many good fathers Joseph was silent, but when needed most he was not invisible, and there are moments, from time to time, when we believe it is a good thing for every man to ponder, “WWjD—What Would Joseph Do?”
We are not asking for much, there is no gathering or march to attend. We believe the greatest marches are often just the ones you take to your own back yard. We just want you to be visible—be there.
Our Mission Joseph campaign is a visible sign of solidarity and the importance of fatherhood. You do not have to be a father to participate, just someone who supports women, children, and fathers.
As a black man I pray that others from all backgrounds and walks of life will join me as a tribute to our nation, with the hope that it may also help to heal our social divide. It is time for us to come together and decide that there are things that hold us together—things that we can all agree on. Let us start here. It’s time.
I am not unique. I do not want my life to reflect a tally of what some think I may be owed. I want my life to reflect a tally of what I have given.
We are sincere in our efforts to get as many involved as possible
Even if you are unable to purchase at this time, please feel free to send a note to us here at LIVESEMPER FI, 1900 West Oakland Park Blvd. #5606, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33310. Make sure to include your name, address, phone number, and email address, along with your shirt size, so that we may create an account for you. Although we cannot guarantee the delivery of a free item, we do love to share, especially when supporters who understand and value our mission go above and beyond to pay it forward and contribute extra resources to help us spread the message.
Thank you for stepping forward. The greatest leaders are the greatest servants. Be visible and join us as we march the Big March—the important march—the march to your own back yard.
We also encourage you to have some fun along the way. For fun and inspiration, check out Dad video #1 of 4 we found online here: Don’t Let Me Down.
LIVESEMPERFI Founding
My career has been spent in the field of social services, working with poor and struggling individuals and families. It may not pay much, but it pays well. There is something uplifting about hearing the relief in the voices of those who have allowed you to make a difference in their lives.
Believe it or not, in the beginning my goal was to eliminate my life’s work. Imbued with idealism I dared to imagine the day when those like me were no longer needed, but as years come and go, and as sure as the sun rises, the appeals from those in need never seem to diminish.
I often found myself praying for a solution, or at least some message of hope. We all want to feel our lives have meaning. We toss pebbles into the lake of daily challenges and peer out hoping to make a ripple every now and then.
I believe that LIVESEMPER FI was born out of my prayers and my desire to make a positive difference. I want to use it as a vehicle for good, to make a ripple in the pond. Please toss in a pebble and join me.
LIVESEMPER FI—always faithful—is a gift I received some time ago. Although I title this campaign “Realizing A Dream”, a dream is not quite what it was, but it was also not a vision. Several years ago, I somehow found myself somewhere in between.
A few summers ago, after midnight, I fell into a deep sleep—the deepest and most restful sleep that I could ever remember, at least in many, many years—but it did not last for long.
I was soon awakened by a voice. It was strong and clear, “Live…Semper Fi; live…semper fi; live…semper fi”. The voice rang out, louder and louder with each subsequent charge. A part of me wanted to resist and return to sleep, but I needed to find out who—or what—this was, and where this voice was coming from. When I sat up and began to look around, the voice continued, and it was undeniable; someone was there, almost shouting now, a fourth time, … “LIVE…SEMPER FI”. The voice seemed to be both in my head and all around me all at the same time. I did not see anyone, but in my mind, I did acknowledge that this message was important, something significant, and then suddenly the voice was silent. I listened carefully to hear if someone was coming or going, and I quickly pulled myself up to check further. Nothing was out of place. The only thing that remained was that refrain ringing in my head. That is the night that LIVESEMPER FI was born. So, maybe it was not exactly a dream, or a vision, but I knew it was something I had to share.
For several months I contemplated ways to share this message with the world.
I am often asked about the link between LIVESEMPER FI and the U.S. Marine Corps motto, “Semper Fi”, but the fact is we are in no way affiliated, but at times I do feel a connection. I have always considered the United States Marine Corps to be a symbol of strength and peace—to keep the world from falling apart. I would love for LIVESEMPER FI to be a symbol of strength and peace—to bring the world together.
Indeed, as a tribute to my father, and the others who fought in the Korean War, we have designed and created a commemorative cap emblazoned with the name KOREAS on the front, with a horizontal line through the “S” to symbolize unity. Wouldn’t it be great if this became a rallying cry that political leaders could not ignore?
My father was born in the American South, into a family of poor sharecroppers. Like many others my father was drafted to fight in a foreign land only to return to continue a fight for freedoms at home. When I reflect on how blessed we are now to live in today’s America and how far we’ve come, I am thankful for my father and that generation of Americans that eventually reached past the pain to realize they were still fighting—on the same side. Yes, I must admit that there are still times when my father laments the way he was treated when he returned home. It is difficult to put your life on the line, even for those you love, but there is a pain that guards the soul when you are reminded every day that that love will not be returned. Yet still I am grateful, not only for the distance we have traveled, but especially for that one lesson that great generation failed to teach us. They taught us everything but how to give up.
They always seemed to finish everything they started, but as we get older, we realize they were only building a foundation. So many challenges remain, including KOREA.
As the torch is passed, we must remind ourselves that not all races are individual sprints, and then ask if a younger generation will accept the baton. The torch we inherit is always precarious in the hands of men who may choose to either singe or shed light. Both at home and abroad, let us continue to choose light. That is why, at LIVESEMPER FI, we wanted to do a little something to show that the baton will be passed, and that we will not forget those who fought, or the North Korean people.
Like Mission Joseph we would also love for our KOREAS cap to become a symbol of family unity and peace. Therefore, we invite any and all supporters to wear the KOREAS cap on May 8th, the yearly Parents’ Day celebration, and also during the yearly South Korean Thanksgiving (Chuseok) celebration.
In essence, it is a prayer to our leaders to come and stand beside us to find a better way.
There are so many causes in the world that deserve to be highlighted with the right message, but we can only begin with the first step. It may be overstated, but we believe the only reason to build a brand is to change the world. We aspire to do well by doing good, and we believe there’s nothing wrong with bringing people together and maybe having a little fun along the way.
Speaking of fun, check out Dad video #2 of 4 here: An American Trilogy.
Are you still with me so far? Starting a new venture requires navigating a steep learning curve. That is why I really need you.
After working so hard, and receiving much help, in designing images and logos, and our website, we feel we have created several designs that anyone would be proud to wear. Also, through much trial and error we believe that we have found and partnered with reliable manufacturers to assist us in bringing our products to life.
Our goal is to bring to your life both quality and inspiration. Whenever you want to take on a challenge—or refocus yourself—we want you to embrace LIVESEMPER FI—LSF—as a reminder to stay faithful and connected to your vision and purpose.
I have a vision that with enough support LIVESEMPER FI could be the catalyst to help us achieve so many great things.
Our Most Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really legal?
Well yes, it is legal.
Truthfully, from the night LIVESEMPER FI came to me what lingers in my memory is the incessant internal prodding that never seemed to diminish over time. I felt compelled to move forward with the message. Therefore, I finally decided to take a step forward and apply for the trademark. Legalities were never a concern, until a few weeks later when I received a call from the Pentagon.
I could not fathom why someone from my community would be receiving a call from the Pentagon. I am sure you could imagine what thoughts might be going through my mind. What could I have possibly done? Is this some sort of sick prank? …This could not be good.
Well, I guess the old saying is true, “Sometimes it’s better when you don’t know better”—or something like that. I was relieved to discover that I had done nothing wrong, but I was also a bit confused, dumbfounded actually, when I realized that the Pentagon was actually calling to inform me that the U.S. Marine Corps had decided to submit an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the Semper Fi mark. Miraculously however, the Marine Corps application was being blocked due to my previously submitted application that was just recently filed for LIVESEMPER FI.
What? Was I hearing this correctly? You are the U.S. government, the Pentagon and the U.S. Marine Corps. How could it be possible that you have never applied for the mark until now? Are you saying I have ownership of the Semper Fi mark?
Needless to say, I did agree to sign an agreement allowing the Marine Corps to register and use the Semper Fi mark while I maintained my separate LIVESEMPER FI mark. So again, yes, through some miracle that I cannot explain, this is legal.
Only in America could something like this happen—or even be allowed to happen. Can there be any doubt that this is a chance that I have been given to do something greater than myself—to finally be able to give back, in a big way? If only I could find others willing to support and share, to ensure this journey will reach its goal, and not come to an end.
So now that you know the story of LIVESEMPER FI, please do all you can to support me, and to spread the message. After coming so far, I need your continued support to assist me in maintaining the trademark which I cannot abandon, but more importantly I cannot abandon the message.
I hope that I have conveyed to you my desire to do well by doing good. It is clear to me that LIVESEMPER FI is a gift that I must share. It does not belong to me alone, and I have so many plans for how I might be blessed to give it away, not only to make my community a better place, but the world.
With your support we will have that chance.
And we promise to remember to have some fun along the way.
For a healthy dose of more fun, check out Dad video #3 of 4 here: A Little Leadership, and then check out Dad video #4 of 4 here: Uproariously Ripping. Help us to spread the word and share the message of LIVESEMPER FI. Who knows, if we are successful, maybe someday our supporters will discover the secret that makes Dad video #4 extra special .
Whenever you dare to face a new challenge—or just refocus yourself—we encourage you to remember it’s okay to take risks, and embrace LIVESEMPER FI as a reminder to stay always faithful and connected to your true vision and purpose.
On a personal note
In addition to the items related to LIVESEMPER FI apparel you will also notice an art print. The artwork is related to a poem that was written by me several years ago. Although I am not a poet, I do recall being compelled one day to write down several lines of verse, which upon reading back to myself I discovered told a story. Even though it is not clothing and apparel related it kept coming to my mind as I worked on the LIVESEMPER FI project.
It occurred to me that there are people all over the world who are just like me in so many ways. We are all souls searching for meaning and a way to make a difference, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that the poem was really speaking to that desire for meaning, and that fear, yet willingness to take a risk. I offer and dedicate this work, “Where is the Bliss?” as a tribute to those who are willing to take a risk to step out of the norm to build a life.
Any amount of support will help. Consider adding the “Where is the Bliss?” print to your wish list, as it also conveys an appropriate sentiment for weddings, anniversaries and Valentines for those who want to gift something a little different.
Thank you for supporting my campaign by contributing and sharing this. For your faith in us, we will remain always grateful to you.
– Cy
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born…and the day you find out why.”
Thank you again, for any support you can provide, and for joining me on this journey to find out why.