Living Your Legacy

I’ve been thinking a lot about legacies lately.  Not so much in terms of my own legacy, but the impact and living legacy of a special person in my life.  While many believe a legacy to be what you leave behind once you’ve passed, I view it a little bit differently.  I believe your legacy is how you live your life every day: living your truth, being the person you want to be and taking actions that help you live a powerful life.  I try to live my life according to those principles.

I remember a conversation I had with an old friend many years ago.  He had recently broken up with a girlfriend and he regretted having gotten involved in the relationship.  I quoted Tennyson’s In Memoriam:

I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

He didn’t find that very comforting so I simplified it for him and advised him not to have any regrets, they only hurt.  I still remember the lengthy discussion that followed about how he couldn’t believe that I didn’t have any regrets.  I was in my early 20’s, so I’ll admit I may have been too young to have done anything I regret, but I firmly believe that regrets are born of risks not taken, or roads untraveled.  How many movies have you seen that speak of the regrets of a life lived in the shadows? Of the risks that could have been taken but weren’t?  How many times have you said to yourself “Someday, when I have enough money…” or “If only I had enough time…”?

Another of my favorite quotes is by John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.”

It’s that quote and my belief that my greatest task is to live my life to the fullest, that have molded my idea of what a legacy is and that it’s to be lived while we are still alive, along with remembered when we are gone.

Here’s how I go about living my legacy daily:

1. Think or Dream Big: I was lucky enough to be a part of Michael Port’s team a few years back and he taught me to think bigger about who I am and what I have to offer the world.  For me, passion is at the core of thinking big or dreaming big.  Find what you’re passionate about, what gets you excited, and share that passion with those around you.  I have big dreams (for my business and my life) that take months to execute and little dreams that are like mini-goals that I set weekly.  Both are critical components of helping me be the person that I want to be.
2. Cultivate Your Dream: Just having a dream isn’t enough.  You need to be taking consistent steps towards making your dream a reality.  This doesn’t happen by magic alone.  Create time in your day to devote to nurturing your dream.  Create a plan to help you make it real.  Whether it’s learning how to play the guitar or build a business that shares your passion for music, you need to devote time daily towards envisioning and fulfilling that dream.
3. Find your Dream Team: Once you have a clear vision of your dream, it’s time to surround yourself with the people who can help you turn that dream into reality.  Your Dream Team will be a mix of partners, friends and mentors who “have your back” and give feedback on your dream plan, help champion your dream and support you in fulfilling your vision.  My own Dream Team is a mix of friends, family and a few clients that encourage me to celebrate my talents and live my life to the fullest.  They challenge me to be the best person, professionally and personally, that I can be.
4. Keep Your Eye on the Prize: It can be easy to lose sight of your vision or get caught up in trying to do it all yourself.  That’s why finding a dream team to help keep you on track and help execute the tasks or activities that can be done by someone other than you is critical to your success.  Again, passion is key.  Examine the steps and goals towards achieving your dream and ask yourself “does this task make me feel excited and connected to my passion for this dream?”  If your answer is yes, great!  But if your answer is no, then you need to find someone else to fill that role.  For example, in my own business, I’m not a big fan of bookkeeping and invoicing.  It used to be a chore for me to have to sit down monthly and generate an invoice or update my books.  It was a drain on my energy and really didn’t make me excited about being in business.  So I found other solutions (Freshbooks for my invoicing, and a fantastic Virtual Bookkeeper for my books).

These are just some of the things I do to help me create a living legacy and help me stay true to a life lived without regret.  So many people have big dreams that are just that… dreams.  They never take steps to make their dreams a reality.  They never take at least one action every day the leads them closer to their dream, closer to living their best life, closer to creating a living legacy.

My high school motto is “Carpe Diem!”  When Dead Poet’s Society was released, it quickly became one of my favorite movies.  Not only because Robin Williams’ character reminded me of a much beloved teacher but also because of the powerful message shared in one of the best parts of the film.