by Jim Rohn | Jul 27, 2018
You know, I have had
an amazing life. I have traveled the world. I have shared my heart with so
many wonderful people. I have been fortunate enough to make a great living and
enjoy the fruit of my work. I have met thousands of people who are dedicated to
personal development and self-growth. I have made it my life’s pursuit to teach
others the philosophies and actions that would help them achieve greatness and
personal fulfillment in their own lives. Forty years ago, it felt like it would
never end. Today, I still imagine I have many years left, but I am also more
acutely aware than ever that there is much less time left than before.
Being aware of this
has made me even more clear about my goal of living well and teaching
others to do the same. I want to help others achieve all of their dreams and
that’s one of the legacies I want to leave behind.
Leaving a legacy for
others to follow is part of what drives me. I followed others who went before
me; they left a legacy for me. Now, I am making sure that those who come after
me will have a trail to follow as well. You see, leaving a legacy is important.
Think about those who
left a legacy for us to follow and for you specifically:
·
Your parents
·
Your grandparents
·
Your aunts and uncles
·
Your schoolteachers
·
Your coaches
·
Your neighbors where
you grew up
·
The founding fathers
with their dream of a place of self-determination
·
Abraham Lincoln, who
freed the slaves
·
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, who saw us through the Great Depression
·
The many men and women
who defend our liberties so that we can live in freedom and safety
·
John F. Kennedy, who
called us to explore space and set us on course to have a man walk on the moon
·
Martin Luther King
Jr., who left us a legacy to pursue the dream of racial equality
There are literally
thousands of men and women who lived in a way that affects our lives today.
And, yes, the list goes on from there. These are the people we knew, the people
we lived with and who shaped us deeply, for better and sometimes for worse.
You see, a legacy can
be anywhere on the continuum, from very bad to very good—it all depends
on how we live our lives.
How we live our lives is critically important. I want to challenge you to take
a look at how you live. I want to challenge you to think deeply about the major
areas of your life where you can and should leave a lasting legacy.
Why is leaving a
legacy important? Here are a few reasons:
1. It is part of the ongoing
foundation of life.
Those who came before
leave us the world we live in. Those who come after will have only what we
leave them. We are stewards of this world, and we have a calling on our lives
to leave it better than how we found it, even if it seems like only a small part.
2. It has the raw power for
good and for bad.
There are people who
have changed the world for good, people who have opened up new worlds for
millions of others, people who have spurred others on to new heights. And,
conversely, there are people who have caused massive destruction for countless
millions, people who left a wake of pain behind them wherever they went. There
are parents who have blessed their children with greatness and
parents who have ruined their children’s fragile minds and hearts. What we do
affects others. Our lives have the power to create good or purvey evil. It is
important that we choose to do good.
3. It is an act of
responsibility to leave a legacy.
Because of the power
of our lives and the legacies we leave, it is a great responsibility to choose
to leave a positive legacy. All good men and women must take responsibility to
create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine.
I truly believe that part of what makes us good and honorable people is having
a foundational part of our lives based on the goal of leaving a legacy.
4. It breaks the downward pull
of selfishness that can be inherent in us all.
When we strive to leave
a legacy, we are acting with a selflessness that can only be beneficial for
everyone. Yes, I suppose someone could work hard to earn money so that when he
or she dies a building is named after them, but that is not the kind of legacy
we are talking about. We are talking about legacies that make life better for
those who come after us, not about our own fame or recognition, but
about helping others. After all, we won’t be around to watch our legacy.
To build that which will last beyond us is selfless, and living with that in
mind breaks the power of selfishness that tries so desperately to engrain
itself in our lives.
5. It keeps us focused on the
big picture.
Legacy building is
part of the “big picture.” It keeps us focused on the long term and gives us
values that we can judge our actions by. When we are acting based on
selfishness, personal expediency and the like, we are focusing on the “small
picture”—whatever is pragmatic right now. When we are building a life that will
give for many years, we are thinking “big picture.” Ask yourself: How does this action affect my overall goals? How will this
affect people in the years to come?
Yes, your legacy is
very important. Reflect on how you are going to use the lessons, information
and skills from those before you to build a life that leaves a tremendous
legacy!
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