I believe everyone wants to live a life of significance. How that is defined is personal to you. I encourage you to ponder that for a moment. Think about the question of an event or person you impacted that was significant in your life that when you look back would be the crowning jewel of your life? For me, I am not sure that I want just one thing to stand out and be the crown jewel, but I desire to live my life with my legacy in mind. Do you?
To live a life of significance is not a one and done event. Even with a crowning jewel type of event it probably took years of preparation. Probably purposeful action of some sort. Significance is a word that covers a lot of ground but the term I use is the word legacy. That word signifies the crowing jewel for me, but it truly takes a lifetime to build.
I love what author Susan V. Bosak of the Legacy Project says, “Legacy is about life and living. It’s about learning from the past, living in the present, and building for the future.” If your desire is to leave a legacy, what does that look like?
I believe that it is foundational to live out of who you are and your foundational principles. Because I feel so strongly about that in the next couple of weeks I am going to revisit and overview my free e-course The 7-Foundational Principles to Living Your legacy. Let’s take a look at what a legacy is and if it is possible.
What is legacy?
Dictonary.com defines legacy as “law, a gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will; a bequest; anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.” The phrase that is important to hear is the phrase “anything handed down from the past.” We live in a technological world where the most important “thing” for many people is their phone. As you know new models are coming out all the time which means when the new model comes out, we discard the old one. It is not passed down over time. I propose that what is and should be passed down over time is our influence and character. When we die the primary thing that people will remember is how we impacted others. So, to leave a legacy are you impacting others?
Is leaving a legacy possible?
I would expand on this question to ask is leaving a good legacy possible? You and I will leave a legacy but what that looks like depends on you. Now I know you have goals and dreams. Many may not specifically have them named but there is something that is driving you to get up in the morning. Without understanding the motivation and truly who you are and what your legacy should and can be, you might be like I was earlier in my life. I was like a ship lost at sea. No direction or purpose but going along with whatever was easiest. Do you have these tendencies?
What can you do?
This is the million-dollar question. I believe that the first step is to identify what you desire as your legacy. Next it takes purposeful action every day to live that out. A legacy is personal and needs to be processed that way and that is why I have put together my free e-course the 7-foundational principles to living your legacy. By living out these foundational principles you will have a great impact on others. First you will live out the legacy you desire but second you will impact others from your immediate family to those in your company or organization as well as your impact will flow out into the community that you live in. Often the business of life and the challenges of overwhelm with life does not give an opportunity to design the legacy you desire.
In the next couple of weeks, I will be looking at the 7-foundational principles of living your legacy. Next week we will examine the first foundational principle of character. If you are interested in exploring this further both personally and in your organization, get on my calendar. Let’s discuss this in a free “zero pressure consultation. Get more information and sign up by clicking the button below.