Have you ever considered what will be left behind when you leave this life? Every year you live contributes to the legacy you leave behind regardless of how old or young you are.
Perhaps you’ve done life exercises where you imagine yourself as an older version of yourself looking back and consider what it is you want to be remembered for, or what you want to leave behind. If you ever get frustrated trying to figure it out but still have a gnawing, yearning for… something… read on.
This is how to leave an inspirational legacy: live an authentic life
- Live your purpose
Do what drives you, and nobody else. If you know that connecting people from disenfranchised countries is your purpose in life, don’t let anyone or anything stop you from doing that. Or if you know in your heart and soul that your purpose is bringing peace within your fractious family, make your home the happiest place on the planet. Don’t let others talk of world peace lessen your achievement.
We each contribute in our individual way and each is unique to our skills and talents. There is no one born who can give the gifts we have to contribute to this world, so give freely and proudly and lovingly. You are changing the world as you do.
2. Engage fully
When we’re in the midst of life, we’re engaged in living. We’re too busy to look around and calculate what everyone thinks of what we’re doing. So get engaged fully in what’s important to you. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks of it. Immerse yourself in life — joyfully and completely.
It’s likely others are noticing and being impacted in a positive way but what truly matters is that you are giving your gift.
3. Stay in integrity
Remain true to your thoughts, words, and actions. That in itself, is inspirational. A leader is someone who impacts and inspires others by living with integrity. Live your purpose and show by example. You will inspire others who see you living your truthful life.
4. Honesty counts
We all fall and we all make mistakes. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be human. Nobody’s perfect so don’t try to pretend you are.
All of these points can be summed up into one: be yourself and live your true purpose. That is exactly what we saw in the life of Einstein. He was far from perfect but I doubt anyone could say he wasn’t inspirational.
He achieved an inspirational legacy by consistently pursuing his own truth and purpose, despite any opposition. Some could have considered his single mindedness unattractive, yet he had many loyal friends and his colleagues revered him. The lesson for us? See number two above — engage fully and don’t worry about whether others are watching.
His contributions to science were revolutionary while his political views were more complex than sometimes understood. He may have been complex but I would submit that he was, while admittedly a genius, also an authentic man and that in itself, left an inspirational legacy.
Many of us may never reach the pinnacle of Einstein’s scientific achievements nor reach the wide range of individuals he was able to impact, but what we all can do is live authentically and honestly. As we do, we leave an inspirational legacy for every life we have impacted. That’s no small thing.
Legacy can refer to money, property, or other personal belongings that are left to someone in a will after the death of the owner.
Yes, that’s true. My article focuses on inspirational legacy more than material legacy, but it is certainly possible for material goods to be inspirational. As with many things, it’s how we look at and handle situations.