What Will Your Legacy Say About You?

Legacy is defined as something that is handed down from one generation to the next. Often, this is thought of in terms of something tangible, i.e. money, property, a business. But, more importantly, your legacy is also about your character; those intangibles that make up your moral fiber. So, just as you build your tangible assets during your life, you must also build your character assets through your daily walk.

Legacy isn’t tomorrow. Legacy is now. How people think of you now is how people will think of you then. Today’s footprint is tomorrow’s legacy.

Just as with anything in life, there are legacy blockers that will veer you off course, if you are not aware of them. What are some of these blockers?

1. Lack of focus – How many times have you sat at your desk and tried to focus on a task, only to find that your mind is wandering? Despite your best intentions, you just can’t concentrate. We’ve all been in this familiar, frustrating situation, and it’s something that can really undermine your performance. Having too much to do can be distracting, and this sometimes causes procrastination. Or, you may quickly jump from task to task, creating the illusion of work – but in reality, you’re not accomplishing very much. If you’re not sure which tasks to start or which are most important, take 10 or 15 minutes to prioritize.
2. Living the life others want you to live – How many of us have put our wants on the back burner in order to make someone else happy? If you’re a “people pleaser”, then people are always taking advantage of you. You’re also probably not getting what you want out of life. Stop thinking about what would make others happy and focus on what you need. It’s time to shift the focus from others to yourself. After all, it can be difficult to improve your own life when you’re too busy accommodating others.
3. Bitterness, anger and fear – Every destructive emotion bears its own harvest, but anger’s fruit is the most bitter of all. Uncontrolled anger is a devastating sin, and no one is exempt from its havoc. It shatters friendships and destroys marriages; it causes abuse in families and discord in business; it breeds violence in the community and war between nations. Its recoil, like that of a high-powered rifle, often hurts the one who wields it as well as its target. Anger makes us lash out at others, destroying relationships and revealing our true nature.
4. Consumerism – If you think about what some of your biggest distractions are – the things keeping you from pushing your creative projects forward, you might be surprised. Take a little time to scan through your daily activities. You will probably find that the most insidious distractions were, in fact, things. More specifically, the wanting, hunting, and getting of things – whether they be tangible (a new pair of shoes) or intangible (information).
5. Urgencies that smother priorities – Sometimes it can start to seem like the whole world is crashing down. Work and school start piling up, house chores and responsibilities, commitments to friends and family–there just aren’t enough hours in some days. Learning to prioritize effectively can help you become a more efficient worker, saving time, energy, and stress. If you constantly get bogged down in the day to day urgencies of life, you’ll never have to time to look past today. Learn to organize your life/tasks into distinct categories and levels of difficult, and start approaching them like a pro.The only time to build legacy is now.So what do you want your legacy to be? Regardless of where you are in life, you can clear away the clutter and start creating your legacy; a legacy not only about leaving what you earned but also what you learned. We all have an opportunity to make a difference. It doesn’t call for wealth, fame or even taking giant steps—you don’t have to be an Oprah or a Mother Teresa to leave a positive mark right now, one that will linger long after you’re gone.
6. The only way to change legacy is to change now.
7. Build your legacy by eliminating behaviors and attitudes that dilute impact. It’s not enough to add positive behaviors; eliminate bad.

So where can you start?

1. Dare to be joyful. Serve in ways that bring you joy. Angry, unhappy people leave sad legacies.
2. Monitor your impact on others. What are you doing when you make the biggest difference? Do more of that.
3. Develop and maximize your talent, strengths, and skills. Know yourself – Bring yourself.
4. Do what matters now. Everyone who’s at the end of life says it goes by fast.
5. Seize small opportunities. Big may follow. Stop waiting to make a difference.
6. Start with those closest to you and the ones you spend the most time with.
7. Bring your best self to work and family. Everyone has at least two selves. Bring out the best one.
8. Think service not success.
9. Relax. Don’t run around building a legacy. Run around making a difference.
10. Elevate the needs of others over your own.

Remember, it’s not what we leave FOR others that matters; it’s what we leave IN them that matters most. Possessions and wealth do not a true legacy make. It’s about leaving behind the essence of your being. That’s what the world needs from you. So serve others by leaving behind the best and most beautiful parts of you. Today, and every day, create your legacy.