Random musings: How to leave the legacy you want

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

How to leave the legacy you want

I'm going to talk a little more about leaving a legacy today since I have more to say on the subject (and more importantly, I needed something to write about today!).

Yesterday I talked about the difference between inheritance and legacy, but today I'm going to talk more about how to leave the legacy that you want.

I think the best way to figure out how to leave the legacy you desire is to Begin with the End in Mind - Habit 2 of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".

Imagine that it's your funeral. All of your friends and family are gathered together to pay their last respects. Many of them get up to speak about you and your life. And how you have touched them personally. Imagine what they will say about you. Now is a good time to practice the 6-word memoir from yesterday. Are they saying the things that you want to be remembered for, or are there changes that you have to make? The things that you are remembered for is your legacy. Good or bad. But it's not too late to make changes.

If everybody says what a good parent, good spouse, good friend or good employee then you're set. But if some or all of those people say something else then it's time to make a plan.

Think about the things you want to be remembered for. This is your vision statement. Gather up all of the imagined statements that you want made at your funeral and change all of the "S/He Was" statements to "I Am" statements. Your "I Am" statements will take the form "I am (who you want to be or what you want to do and why you want it)". Just saying "I'm a good parent" isn't quite enough. Why do you want to be a good parent? Because your parents were and you remember your happy childhood? Or maybe they weren't and you want a happier childhood for your children. But don't settle for the first why that comes to you. Keep asking why until you get to the why that makes you cry.

If you're really brave, you can ask the people in your life what they think of you and what they wish was different about you.

However you get your "before and after" results, it's time to compare them.You have the who and/or what you are and who and/or what you want to be. You also have the why. Figure out how to make the changes and when, and you're all set (the where may or may not matter).

Begin with the end in mind and leave behind the legacy that you want.