Legacy Living Creates Success & Meaning -

“Don’t Fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains 3 descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” – Louis Boone

These regretful words are usually spoken at two key moments in our lives: standing at life’s twilight or contemplating retirement.

In the relentless pursuit of success, we often find ourselves caught in the whirlwind of modern daily life, swept away by the pursuit of material wealth, fixated on the ephemeral validation of likes and follows on social media. It is amazing and sad the lengths that people go to impress others and seek approval.

· We wear incredibly uncomfortable clothing or ridiculous looking fashion.

· We eat differently and jump on different bandwagons.

· We voice our opinions in alignment with popular political or social causes.

· We try every hack or trend to seek success or growth in our business.

Yet, what if true success is not created or measured by these fleeting metrics? What if, instead, true success can only be measured by the legacy we leave behind?

“Show me that the good life doesn’t consist in its length, but in its use. And that it is possible – no entirely too common – for a person who has a long life to have lived too little” – Seneca

The number of years that we live on this earth and the amount of accumulated wealth or popularity do not matter. What matters is what those years are composed of and the mark we make on those around us.

Most people waste their life by merely existing and accumulating.

We fail to ask ourselves:

what do I really want
what do I really believe in
what do I really desire
why am I here

Only when it is too late do they try to compensate and vainly hope to put more time on the clock.

What if instead of living extravagantly or seeking vanity matrix and material wealth, we instead focus on a profound exploration of legacy, illuminated by the guiding light of wisdom toward a life brimming with purpose and meaning. The more we desire, the more we have to do to attain what earned those accolades, the less we spend on enjoying out lives or investing in our legacy, and thus the less free we are.

We need to define and live out our character through our choices and our actions.

We all consciously or unwittingly cast our legacy upon the world. It doesn’t have to be huge or far reaching. . It could be a profound impact on your family and community or a broader footprint that resonates through generations. Yet, it’s vital to remember that we all leave a legacy, whether by design or by default. It is about how we etch our character, actions, successes, and even our failures into the tapestry of time.

What does it take?

“Above all it is necessary for a person to have a true self estimate, for we commonly think we can do more then we really can.” – Seneca

Awareness and Priorities are the beginning.

Many people know little about themselves or the legacy that they want to leave. Rarely do we ask ourselves the questions of who I am, what’s important to me, what do I like, what do I need, and what legacy – what mark do I want to make on the world?

Know yourself and your priorities before it’s too late. Assess your priorities and your purpose to define the legacy that you want to leave. If you don’t you may win the race, it just might be the wrong one.

In your quest to sculpt a lasting legacy, take a moment to assess your priorities. Define the legacy you yearn to leave, and then harmonize your professional path with your personal mission. How you conduct your business should be a reflection of your core beliefs and values. Passion is not enough; you must be utterly consumed by your purpose and mission. Be willing to live for that which you would willingly die.

When you live for your mission, you can’t NOT do it. What you need to do – the choices you make, the actions to make it happen, the business you run – become bigger than any fears or reservations about taking that step that you need to take. You will align your professional life with your personal mission. How you run your business will reflect your beliefs and values.

Download our free Legacy Planning Guide to help you think through your priorities – it will ask you tough questions. REQUEST HERE

Clearing the Clutter:

Clear your heart, mind, and soul of anxieties, busyness, the past, and distractions. Don’t look in your rearview mirror, only look forward. Evaluate your addictions, habits, and fears; the past need not shackle your future. Regardless of past failures or missed opportunities, do not allow history to hold you captive.

Cut out the needless things in your life that make you “busy”. Don’t set your heart on many things. Focus. Prioritize. Train your mind to ask, “Do I need this thing? Can I make do without?”

Self-examine for addictions, places, websites, apps, attitudes, temptations, habits, regrets, relationships, and fears that no longer are serving you, but are keeping you focused on the past.

You can’t erase the past but history does not have to define your future.

You may have once had it all and lost it. Or you may still hope for something and to date have never achieved it. Either way don’t let it stop you.

Guarding Against Distractions:

In today’s performance-driven society, it’s essential to recognize that likes and follows on social media are not the building blocks of a legacy.

These are simply ego boosting rewards that often imprison us away from our purpose. Guard from losing sight of what’s important for instant gratification or temporary rewards.

Don’t be enslaved by money or fleeting praise, money can’t buy you a good reputation, or character, or a legacy. Don’t sacrifice the legacy that you want to leave for empty pats on the back and trying to impress others. Your value, worth, dignity, and legacy are not based on, or attached to, whims of online recognition. Instead, do things for their inherent purpose, even immortal influence, rather than the glory they might promise.

Be resolute – seize each day as if it were your last

Making Room for Legacy:

To create a lasting legacy, you must have the courage to actively direct your life. Be deliberate with your time and actions.

To create space for the legacy you aspire to build, there may come a time when you must relinquish something. Incessant anxieties and busyness that gnaw away at your time need to be identified and eliminated. But that is not all. Even pleasurable activities may need to be stricken. Ask yourself what you are willing to forgo in service of your deepest convictions. What are you willing to give up?

This is about selfless commitment to something greater. It involves pruning away superfluous commitments and replacing them with endeavors that truly matter.

What deadlines, activities, commitments, and distractions are making you too busy.

Eliminate time-draining habits, embrace efficiency.

What obligations needlessly accepted out of vanity or ego are making you needlessly busy.

Know that quitting can often be the most productive action. Be politely ruthless with your time.

Overcommitted people leave unexpected unintentional legacies. When you’re overcommitting something suffers either other people, your job, your health, or so many other things.
Over committed people are actually saying no to doing anything right.
Overcommitting can hinder your progress, so be ruthless in trimming down unnecessary obligations.
Over commitment more often than not hinders the real essence of a purposeful existence.

“How many have laid waste to your life when you weren’t aware of what you were losing. How much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, and social amusement-how little of your own was left to you.” – Seneca

Calendar year success:

Time is your most valuable commodity, and everyone has the exact same amount, so use it wisely. Calendar all your activities. Figure out where you’re wasting time and where you can be more efficient.

“Don’t complain about the lack of time… what little I have will go far enough. Today, this day, will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about.” – Seneca

Will getting to the next level in that video game or finishing that TV series get you where you want to be? Or will it just delay it further out into the future.

Will creating that new reel or posting on social media get you where you want to be? Or do you need to spend time making those calls and getting back to people.

Be deliberate with your time and your actions. Know your priorities and protect the time you are to spend on those fiercely. If the bulk of your time and your actions are devoted to your priorities you are on your way to the life that you desire and the legacy that you intend to leave.

“Our attention matters. Attention is a critical resource that we have, It is a habit that we can form. Einstein didn’t invent the theory of relativity while he was multitasking at the Swiss Patent Office” – David Meyer

Moving Forward:

As you work toward your desired legacy, remember Ben Franklin’s words: “All mankind is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” Be someone who moves.

It’s never going to be the right time. Someday never arrives, hope is not a solution a destination or a strategy. Luck is not a plan. Comfort and complacency are the foes of progress and the enemy of growth.

Don’t reach mediocrity and satisfaction and stop, Keep striving, Success doesn’t come in a day. Legacy is built over a lifetime.

As you move from where you are now, to where you want to be, don’t fret over the GAP as its closing. Enjoy the process and all the wins along the way.

Find your GAP (Goal vs. Actual Perspective). Download our free Legacy Planning Guide to help you think through your priorities – it will ask you tough questions. REQUEST HERE

Don’t be cheap on your dreams or with your legacy.

Get help. Get a coach. Get the education. Gain the skills. When you invest in something you are less likely to give up.

Invest in your aspirations. Nurture your reservoir of knowledge and skills.

The most successful people invest in two key people (1) a coach or advisor and (2) someone to hold them accountable. For both, find someone who will encourage you, and hold you accountable to your defined priorities. Make sure the people you choose will lovingly be hard on you.

Seek out wisdom. Read something longer than a tweet.

It has been said in a variety of different ways -but it is true: Those who don’t read are no better off than those who can’t read.

The path to creating a lasting legacy is not a sprint, but an odyssey.

Success doesn’t manifest overnight, and lackadaisical effort seldom leads to victory. It takes daily effort to live out your legacy here on Earth.

Your legacy is not simply about the tangible footprint you leave behind; it encompasses the intangible, but profound, impact you make on the world.

You can’t start thinking about your legacy tomorrow, today is part of it. You can’t start making choices and actions based on your priorities tomorrow, today is the time. You can’t start running YOUR race tomorrow, tomorrow may be too late.

“Let us prepare our minds as if we come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” – Seneca

Each day as your head hits the pillow ask yourself these three things: