Leaving A Legacy

When I was in high school, I attended a communication conference down in South Louisiana. The theme at the conference was about leaving a legacy. The staff was motivational, fun, and challenging and attempted to persuade the large group of students that you have one life to live and that you needed to leave a legacy.

I can honestly say that I left from the conference fairly motivated. What was my legacy going to be? What sort of action steps could I take upon arriving home that would help me to leave a legacy. That is a thought that still crosses my mind occasionally. What will people remember about me when I'm gone?

It did not take long for me to become incredibly depressed with myself. I found out rather quickly that my daily tasks were not going to give anyone anything to remember me by. In retrospect, I guess I could have taken up shipbuilding or architecture to leave a lasting monument but the time for that decision has long passed. I do not blame the conference or its creative team for this. I think the root cause of my depression was an improper view of leaving a legacy.

It is my contention that people should not be concerned with leaving a legacy in the first place. But instead, we should all focus on the type of legacy we will be leaving. Fact is, we will all leave a legacy of some sort for others to see. That influence that lingers at our passing will motivate those who see it for the better, or for the worse.

Primarily, we need to understand that we will all leave a legacy. Take a second to think about anyone who has ever looked up to you. Remind yourself of kids that have admired you, adults that adored you, and friends that enjoyed your company. Each and every person that you come into contact with over the course of your life has an impression of you. For some, that is a fairly short impression that was buried deep into their mental filing cabinet shortly after meeting you. I know that is a harsh realization for anyone, but it's the truth. The likelihood that the famous person you met a while back does not remember very much about you.

But there are others who know a great deal about you. There are people today who watch the way you act, the way you dress, and the way you treat others. That is why it is so incredibly vital that you conduct yourself like a professional. You're leaving impressions of yourself on people every day. Unfortunately, many of those impressions will be made without an acknowledgement or any verbal cue on your part. Think about how many judgments you make of people that you see walking in the shopping center or the grocery store. People you don't even know are automatically labeled in your brain positively or negatively until they, themselves, get the chance to change that label.

Understand that this is not meant to criticize or belittle anyone reading. My purpose was simply to put the way that many human beings view the world into perspective. That is why it is fairly insignificant to focus on leaving a legacy in the first place. You're going to leave one, whether you like it or not. What is important, is that you focus on building yourself as an individual of great character. This greatly increases your chances of leaving a legacy that means something positive instead of something detrimental. Keep in mind, people watch you all the time. What they think is out of your control. But how you behave is under no one's control but your own. So until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew