What will the world say about you when you are no longer here? What legacy will be attached to your name? Will your children benefit in this world from who their father was? One of my goals is that what I am most proud of in my life when it is over not be something that I bought, and that it be something that I worked to earn. Over the years, it has been very easy for me to be proud of houses, cars and clothes. Being able to take trips to nice places, and buy nice things would make anyone feel good. But I find myself in a constant conversation with myself about what I want my legacy to be. And I’ve decided that I do not want it to be, “that guy bought some really nice things while he was alive.”
It has also been very easy to sit back and rest on the laurels of the beings I affectionately call, “my children.” Amazingly beautiful and wondrous in so many ways. But while I can be proud of them, it all means nothing unless I leave them a legacy that is attached to economic freedom, not debt, leading a purposeful life, not defined by superficial distractions, and inherent value, not the perceived value that we place on others based on the nonsense society has trained us to believe defines value.
I aspire to leave a legacy to my next generation. I aspire to leave the world a better place than when I came into it because I gave, because I cared, and because I loved. If we are to be considered leaders, it is up to us to impart this idea of legacy on the ones coming under us. In reality, many people leading households and raising children may not fully agree with it or even understand it. But it is ultimately our responsibility to lead by example, and to show those who cannot see past their present circumstances a new perspective, a new vision, and a new philosophy. Lets work together to teach our children the value of legacy, and the value of giving of themselves to the world for the benefit of their brothers and sisters, their own families, and the generations that will follow them.