Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Legacy - Part 2: Developing It

Yesterday I discussed why I have avoided thinking about my legacy. Today I want to explore what I want my legacy to be.

To start, I need to define for myself what a legacy is. There is the proper definition of course, but that doesn't really give me a very practical list.

Things that I can leave behind that could constitute a "legacy":
1. Children
2. My work be it physical or intellectual
3. Memories
4. Affected lives

I want to have a positive effect in all of those areas. Let me look over each one.

1. Children: I have had three. So my impact on them will outlive me.
                a. I want to teach them to love G-d, and to fulfill the gifts and purposes He has for them.
                b. I want to teach them how to be productive and highly functional members of society.
                c. I want to help them succeed in their lives even more than I have in mine.

2. My work:
                a. Physically... yeah, that's not really my thing. I can do hands on if I really need to, but no one is going to remember me for anything I physically build. I have been part of the creation of some cool projects though so that kind of counts. No one is going to remember me for that though. I'm a little cog in a very big machine and probably always will be.
                b. Intellectually is a bit different. I have ideas. I have dreams. I would like to have had an impact on the world with my ideas. I have a few that could be valuable.

3. Memories: Well, memories are the easiest to make and the most fleeting. I don't really care if I am remembered though. I am not so special that I must be remembered.

4. Affected lives: This is the one that is probably the second most important to me after kids. I want to do the same thing for other people that I want to do for my kids. I want to help them live the fullest lives they can. I want to help equip them to embrace their G-d given dreams and purposes.

So wrapping that all up into something that is a little more put together:

My desired legacy is that a trail of people who have met their full potential with my help.

That was helpful to me. I have never worked through it like that. I hope seeing a little of my internal process helps you think about what impact you want to have.

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