Your Legacy – What Will you Leave Behind | My Four Cents

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Jamie O’Neill’s “My Four Cents” articles offer a great change of pace from the typical literature you may find on a management consultant or leadership development web site. Most of the time, self-improvement is about assessing and amending your personal skills; however, every once in a while it is necessary to take a step back from it all and consider broader topics like your personal values and goals. “My Four Cents” forces you to do exactly that.

With her down-to-earth and practical perspectives, Jamie offers a view of the world that everyone can derive some value from. The articles in this section allow you to remove yourself from day to day trails and focus on what you consider to be truly important in your life. So take the time to read a few; we think they will really help… but hey, that’s just our four cents.

Your Legacy – What Will you Leave Behind

How do you want to be remembered? As much as I hate to admit it, let`s face it, we are all going to die someday. The legacy that we leave the world is one of the most important things that we will ever do. Our family, friends, society, and the world will be forever impacted in some way by our short time on earth. As we stumble through life, mixing in the good moments with our not so great moments, how will you be forever remembered? What are you doing today that is going to shape the image of your existence, the footprint you will leave behind?

My 89-year old grandmother passed away last week. All I can say is that if I could even have half the number of people that attended my grandmother’s funeral attend my funeral, I’d be happy. It was obvious of the impact that she had on those people. Throughout the week I enjoyed listening to stories of her life growing up, the funny things she did, and the events that marked her life forever.   Throughout all the stories though, it was interesting to note that not once was her occupation ever mentioned.

So many of us define ourselves by our job and the position we hold. It appears that we have become a culture whose values have shifted from family to success and recognition. Throughout our lives we are invited to many different tables and the role that we play at each can vary greatly. What table do you bring the most meaning to? I am not saying that your career is not important, it is. I believe it is important to do what you love and to have what you do contribute to the betterment of society. For a lot of us though, especially people my age and older, our priorities need a little shifting. The Millennials that are now entering the workforce got it right – family and fun first, work second!

Our lives may be recorded by the year we are born and the year that we pass, but our lives are forever remembered for the minutes, days, and years in between. Think about people who have had a meaningful impact in your life. What was it about them that you liked most? What characteristics did they possess that you admire so much?   Take a few minutes to sit down and write out what it is that you respect most in people and set a goal to start living a life that you can be proud of.

You will be leaving a legacy behind when you leave this earth. What do you want to be known for? If you could write your obituary today, what would you say, and more importantly, what is still missing from your story of life? Even though it’s your own script to write, do you enjoy your story? Did you live a life that created meaning? Life is short, but your impact could be huge.   Live the life you enjoy and leave a legacy that will be remembered forever – but that’s just my 4 cents.