Here at Creating Legacy we know that great legacies are inspired, thoughtful, heart-filled, beneficial, touching and meaningful. They tap into the powerful human attributes every one of us possesses – of being generous, wise and creative. So we also know they are not limited to the rich and powerful (both relative terms anyway …), they are the province of anyone who chooses to create something that others will benefit from, and remember for having been bettered somehow. Which is a very satisfying thing to do. Thus we know that great legacies are pursued mainly by those ready to create memories from joy.
And how they deliver those memories is through the development of powerful, positive, and beneficial results to the world through a design that makes them workable, systematic, and enduring. That’s all the “how to” we cover in our 7 Steps To Creating Your Legacy program, after we help you get in touch with your passion, desire and vision for doing so.
But why even go there? Because there are benefits of a great legacy – for both giver and receiver.
GREAT LEGACIES ARE MEMORABLE. A great legacy, or its impact, is remembered. Certainly it is remembered by whoever benefits from the project or contribution.
You may create significant impacts everyday just by virtue of consciously choosing who you want to be and how you want to you approach others or your work – you put in a little more effort than required, you leave something a little better than you found it, you choose to pay a particular kindness to someone even if just in passing. It truly is a conscious mindset – instead of just stepping over the piece of glass on the path, you choose to pick it up so no one else will injure themselves.
It is from this same legacy level way of being and doing that much larger legacies are built. They are an expression of your personal values. People notice that sort of positive or constructive action, and they remember you for it – fondly.
Actively choosing to create a project or enterprise that similarly impacts a chosen environment or community you care about will also be remembered in an even more significant way. What you create may affect people immediately close to you, like actual or chosen family, or even members of distant global communities, depending on the type and scope of your legacy. Some of them you may never actually know, but they will know of you, through your legacy … and kind contribution. And because your impact is so memorable, others may want to participate or even replicate your efforts.
No matter what, the process of building and watching your legacy grow is something that you will remember for sure – and be glad of. Creating your legacy, contributing the benefits only you can while you can, will prevent that sense of regret later on of the things you could have done, but didn’t – like smelling more roses or eating more ice cream, but on a grander scale.
GREAT LEGACIES ARE JOYFUL. Legacies consciously designed to create sustainable positive benefits encompass a true sense of delight both for you, and for those who benefit. For you, that may take the form of amusement in playing with the original idea, a sense of pride for the cheer or comfort delivered to others in the process, gratitude for seeing the end result play out and the impact your work has – or all three and many others. For the recipients of your contribution, joy may be expressed through a sense of delight, great relief, or deep appreciation for the benefit or experience they may not have otherwise had.
Developing a legacy project can provide a true sense of awe and wonder about how the process of creation works. The experience of being a part of something that grows and morphs into a real contribution and that attracts the attention and involvement of others, can also provide a sense of real connection with the Divine or ‘oneness with the universe,’ however you define that. During the process, people and resources just seem to show up, experiences just seem to happen effortlessly, and you may have other special experiences that seem to tap into the greater good.
These are special brands of happiness and well-being that are profound elements of true joy – that you can choose to cultivate. How would you like to be remembered, or for what? Look first for those things that bring you the most joy when you think about that as your contribution. The pride you’ll feel for actually having done it – knowing it will live on an benefit folks who may never actually know you - will far outweigh anything fame has to offer.
The elements of great legacies can be grasped and mastered by anyone, and developed in your own unique way. What are the sparks that inspire you – that stir inside you when you take the time to entertain them? What are your good ideas, the ones you consider sharing with others – but might be a bit shy to admit?
Yes, those. Right there. The ones you might be reluctant about. They seem like really are good ideas that mean something to you, and would mean something to others, but you may question your own ability to create them. Well grab hold of your thoughts, and at least write them down somewhere to give them their first bit of “mass.”
You’ll be on your way to making something from nothing – exercising that innate creative ability with which all
humans are endowed.
Great legacies don’t happen overnight. But once you get started, you might be surprised how, stepwise, you can systematically develop your good ideas, find needed support to nurture and grow them – and how they can turn into enduring, beneficial solutions that are both memorable and exceedingly satisfying to see working in the world.
What are you waiting for, you creative being?
Want to know more?
- To learn more about legacy development from inception to completion and all the different ways to create one, check out our 7 Steps to Creating Your Legacy program and join us the next time we offer it!
- Sign up for our Creating Legacy Kit and we’ll send you our complete 14 Elements of Great Legacies complimentary e-course – and you’ll get our twice monthly Legacy Journal and updates on upcoming programs and other offerings.