Life is about moving from success to significance to legacy. Success, significance, and legacy constitute a remarkable triad in life. I did not understand this vital linkage until much later in life. In my corporate career, I focused on working hard and adding value to whatever business function I worked in. After I retired, I began working on contributing to the lives of other people, especially my family and friends. Mentoring and guiding others through the pitfalls of life can be extremely satisfying. When I did this, I began to move from success to significance. Then I began to think about what my legacy would be and what I would leave behind that indicated that I was here.
Success Has Many Dimensions
Success has many dimensions, such as education, career, and wealth, but it can also include family, lifestyle, and so much more. Most of us can easily scorecard our lives based on achievements and material things. Later in life, we realize that there is more to life than that kind of success.
We often hear the phrase: I want to make a difference. That phrase is what leads us to think about significance and legacy.
Significance Can Be More Difficult to Achieve
Significance can be more challenging to achieve because it requires that we subordinate our ego. And that is no easy task for most of us. I wrote above that significance is about contributing to the lives of your family and friends, as well as to your community and to the country. Shifting gears like that is the beginning of real maturity.
Creating A Legacy for yourself is the final step
We can have many goals in life. One of the best is to leave a personal legacy behind. For most of us, children and grandchildren become a living legacy. For me, I have decided that my books and writings will be my legacy.
A Call to Action
What will be your legacy? It is never too early to think about what that might be.
A Quote To Ponder
“The purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is after all, to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you have lived at all.”—Leo Rosten
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