Legacy Beyond Today
“Build and Grow a Legacy that Makes Sense for You.”
Introduction
Legacy Beyond Today asks you to encourage the current generation to encourage the next generations to live from the legacy they intend to share and leave.
Today, become aware of your legacy built on yesterday’s decisions, actions, and outcomes. Then, build and grow your legacy moving forward so others can learn from your lived experience.
Your legacy is a source of motivation for future generations, but not an excuse to do nothing in the present day. Legacy is about how you loverage your lived experience today.
Legacy Beyond Today
“Build and Grow a Legacy that makes sense for you.”
I’m struck by the meaning assigned and the use of the word “legacy“ as we roll towards the end of 2021. Based on a keyword search the concepts and practices of legacy have remained, for the most part in the legal dimensions of life. There have been connections to computer systems, used by companies suggesting a product/service available over time, woven into religious/spiritual stories, and highlight the past and present story of a person’s achievement and/or group’s accomplishment.
While helpful, I suggest there is an expanding need and use of the word. For ease of presentation, I’ll use the Before, Bridge, and Today* references to Legacy to share my thoughts and suggestions. My presentation is illustrative, not prescriptive. It’s meant to add to the dialogue and multilogue about legacy. And, I encourage you to weigh in and share your thoughts and suggestions.
*Consider Today is whenever you read this text. In that way, you have a reference point from which to decide if “legacy” is important to you. More so, you will move forward with the word and associated actions in your extraordinary life.
Living from a legacy is often expressed in writing and celebrations. Meet Katie Ohe (artist, abstract sculpture) who is in the midst of creating “a legacy that captures her and her husband’s shared heart of generosity to elevate other artists and make contemporary visual culture accessible.” Jacquie Moore, The Arch, Fall/Winter 2021 — A Publication for the University of Calgary Alumni.
This quote is one of many that pass by me in various media forms each day. I selected it simply because it was present when I wrote this article.
What is a Definition of Legacy?
Before: Legacy is the things we leave behind when we die. It can be in our deeds, in our professional lives, or even in a family’s best recipes.
Bridge — As we move forward beyond 2022 the definition and outcomes of legacy are expanding.
Today: Legacy is about the useful whats (time, effort, and money) that you gift others so they can learn something from your lived experience (SWH).
What is the importance of legacy?
Before: In law framing life, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament including such things as personal effects, family property, trust funds, etc.
Legacy also includes the memories and stories that people tell after the death of the person whether during the eulogy, in the obituary, and/or sharing a casserole.
Bridge — Legacy is important for inspiring future generations to work consciously and be a contributor in life. And that means for you doing something now in the form of inspiration and story sharing.
Today: Legacy is about Living from the Legacy You Intend to Share and Leave. It’s about weaving your tapestry of Living Your Extraordinary Life in the fullest sense of those words and actions rather than having the tapestry only serve as the shroud for your transition.
Questions about Legacy
Below are three more questions about Legacy that extend the responses to the first two common questions.
Before moving to them, it’s important to remember:
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” Chinese Proverb
Like planting a tree, if you are without a legacy approach today, then Today is when you start.
How do you create a legacy?
There are many different ways to create a legacy.
Consider inspiring the next generation through your actions and outcomes whether writing, educating, sculpting, nursing, managing, leading — and so on. Add your verb with “ing”!
Consider one or more of these statements — — ask and action them:
__ Why and How you live your extraordinary life = in being you for the human world (being fully human)
__ Why and How you co-create workplaces where persons enjoy what they do and do what they enjoy — in being with others for the organizational world (being natural)
__ Why and How you eco-create with your kin and wild kin = in being with all of the planet (being planetary)
__ Why and How you evolve your legacy from light and love = in being from the whole (being Solaris, cosmos)
Can a living person have a legacy?
Yes, a living person can have a legacy. More so, a living person can live the legacy they intend to share and leave. One way they can do this is by inspiring others (see above). That is, in being for the world, with the planet, and from the whole.
What are the elements or categories of legacy?
From the beginning, and as mentioned above, the two most common elements or categorizations of Legacy were legal and life, with legal holding the most sway.
Today there are three more and offered in a different order to highlight the Legacy Approach — Legacy Pathway available to you.
The progression is Life — Leadership — Legal — Literacy — Loverage.
__ Life as outlined above with reference to the phrase “Living FROM the Legacy You Intend to Share and Leave”.
__ Leadership is about your willingness to step forward and stay found so others can learn something from your lived experience.
__ Legal is about the preparation of what you bequeath and the prevention of misunderstanding of your gifts in keeping with your life and leadership decisions — actions — outcomes.
__ Literacy is about knowing your hierarchy of values in becoming for the world, with the planet, and from the whole.
__ Loverage is about loving the leverage you have in being fully human, being natural, being planetary, and being Solaris (cosmos).
Legacy Quotes
Before closing here are 5 Legacy Quotes. I share them in celebration of continuous learning for knowing about legacy.
Do they apply to the Legacy You Decide to Share? Whether Yes or No, reflect on your response by asking Why. From your reflection, ask So What? What Else? Now What?
“The early bird gets the worm.” — Unknown
“If you wait until tomorrow, it may be too late.” — Unknown
“The secret to success is getting up one more time than you fall.” — Unknown
“When you listen you learn, Where you share you educate.” — SWH
“Accept to live on moving ground!” — SWH
Let’s learn together. Add your comments wherever you find this article. And we can continue the collaborative conversation!
In Closing
One way to get started and/or to consolidate your current thinking and feeling about legacy is to explore and discover and identify and weave your legacy intention words into your legacy project-story-contributions. With these words, you have the stepping stones to move forward. And, you have the words others can understand to involve themselves.
A Build-Grow experience for you with others!
Click: Learn More or cut n paste https://wellthmovement.com/legacy-intention
Wellth Blog: https://wellthmovement.com/defintion-legacy-beyond-2022
