Your legacy is the most significant thing you leave behind.
Every day, as you live your life and influence others, you are literally writing your legacy. From the casual conversation around the water cooler at work to critical family meetings around the kitchen table -- you are instilling pieces of yourself in those around you.
But what is a legacy?
Let’s clarify what we mean by “legacy” to ensure we break any stereotypes of what legacy is and what it is not. Let me describe three things that legacy is -- and three things that legacy is not.
Legacy IS (by definition) something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Legacy is passed down from one person to another. Therefore, legacy is infectious and contagious.
Legacy IS something that you are constantly creating. Your legacy is continuously under construction through how you treat others, the priorities you honor, how you choose to live your life, and in what values you embody. All of these principles shape your life -- and impact those around you.
Legacy IS the most significant thing you leave behind. (I know, I’ve said this already -- but it bears repeating.) Your legacy is the little piece of you that sticks with people even after you’ve left them. Peter Stople says, “Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people.” It’s your power to shape the world around you through the influence you wield.
Now let’s talk about what legacy is not.
Legacy IS NOT necessarily something that is tangible or can be touched. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking of a legacy in terms of physical inheritance. Physical inheritances can be expended and exhausted. Your legacy cannot be expended or exhausted. It lives on as long as the memory of you remains.
Legacy IS NOT something you can pick and choose to create. Gary Vaynerchuk says, “Please think about your legacy because you are writing it every day.” Every day you write your legacy with the life you are living -- whether conscious of this or not.
Your legacy IS NOT something you should take lightly. Every day, as you live and leave your legacy, you should consider the significance of each interaction, relationship, and moment you face as an opportunity to impact the world around you positively.
The best part about your legacy is that you get to choose it. Your legacy is up to you.
How will you choose to influence the world around you?
What kind of legacy are you living and leaving?
With intentionality, you can live and leave a legacy that changes the world for the better.
