Legacy – How to Be Unforgettable
Legacy – no one lives forever, but one’s legacy can. How will you be remembered? Will you be
remembered for your unmatched stories, your funny laugh that always brightens
up a room (we all have that friend with the laugh that makes us laugh), for your shyness,
your temper, or maybe for your character? I recently watched a video of Will
Smith (Will
Smith: Leaving a Legacy) and realized he is a man who will forever be
remembered as his breakout character, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Be honest, you can probably sing the theme song from
start to finish. (I can’t get the words out of my head as I write this!) Will
Smith has a lot of accomplishments to be remembered for, from his Blockbuster
movies to his hip-hop albums, but he will always be remembered as the Fresh
Prince. So how will you be remembered and how can you ensure you too will have
a strong positive legacy? Here are 3 ways you can leave one:
1.
Live your legacy Рas clich̩ as it sounds,
actions really do speak louder than words. I recently watched “The Fighter”
with Mark Wahlberg. There is a scene where is brother, Dicky, gets upset and
begins to punch the lockers. His child sees him and begins to take the same
action by punching the lockers. People are always watching you whether you like
it or not. The young and impressionable ones will follow in your footsteps. The
most indelible legacy is the way that we live. Furthermore, if you watched the
movie you noticed that Dicky thought his legacy was being a great fighter who
knocked down one of the best boxers in the world, but in reality his legacy was
about how he destroyed his life with drugs. People’s perceptions are reality.
Even if you think your legacy is one thing, a great fighter in this case, other
people perception’s is how you’ll be remembered.
2.
Live like you mean it – None of us know how long
we will live our lives on planet earth. However, we can leave the legacy we
want by living with honor, conviction, and passion. People will remember the
way you live more than the details of your achievements. Think of Michael
Jackson. He has countless achievements under his belt but very few remember him
for his accomplishments. They remember him for the way he lived his life.
3.
Build the foundations of purpose for others to
build on – you cannot build a pyramid by yourself or in a single generation.
However, it can eventually be built if the foundation was built on principles
and purposes that are timeless. Live a story that lasts an eternity.
Leave a legacy that will go on for generations to come, and
one that you can be proud of… something more than just your name.
Chris Langlois
chris@extremeEDvantage.com
