What will you leave behind? A name? An inheritance? Or a Legacy? (credit to Bishop Wiley Jackson Jr.)

A few years ago we went to a funeral of a longtime family friend. The eulogy was delivered by our family friend's son the Bishop Wiley Jackson Jr. of the Gospel Tabernacle Churches and Word in Action Fellowship. The theme of that sermon still is in my head. He asked the question "What will you leave behind? A name? An inheritance? Or a Legacy?"

If we honestly look at those three items I would guess most of us spend time thinking and working on the second item on that list. And certainly our success and security that we provide for our loved ones and ourselves is very important. But my guess is that if you were to ask anyone what is the most important we would say our legacy is the most important(myself included).

So why the disconnect?

I think it is because we have grown up being given the tools for asking the questions about inheritance. It is in our language, standard curriculum of schools and in shows on television. We do not spend time answering a very simple and important question...

"What do you want your legacy to be?"

We should ask ourselves that question and then write down the answer. And then read it, edit it, re-write it and read it again. We then should set an appointment on our calendar and read it again and again.

There is a psychological phenomenon in business planning they call "memories of the future" - by looking forward at descriptive conditions for the future we can be act and prepare and be ready for that future. It allows us to plan and act today for that future "memory". And with our legacy the same is true. We need to create the same discipline and rigor in our lives for our legacy as we do for our careers, finances etc...

If that is what is going to live on the longest should we not give our legacies the right place in our everyday consciousness and processes?

Obviously our vision for our won legacy is very personal. Notice I have not mentioned mine here at all. And remember that we do not have to share it with anyone else - but it is a real shame if we never take the time to stop, and share what we want our legacy to be with ourselves.