Legacy, Character, and Destiny
I’ve been thinking a great deal about legacy, character, and destiny recently. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the impending birth of our first child. In fact it probably has nothing to do with that life altering event at all.
What is my legacy? The more I considered it, the more I realized how complicated that question is. Legacy in simple terms is what we leave behind when we are gone. I feel that most people associate legacy with death.
The reality of the world is with every interaction, you are potentially leaving someone’s life forever and they yours. The nice cashier at the grocery store, you say hello, pay, and go. Will you see them again? Maybe yes, maybe no.
What will that person remember about you when you are gone?
Will they talk to their friends about the lovely patron, or the angry rushed person that you are in that moment? What they remember about you is your legacy.
Your legacy, is closely tied to your character, and your destiny. Your character, the qualities that make you, determine your legacy. Remember, character is how you act when no one is looking.
Treat people with kindness, respect, and trust. Those character traits become your legacy.
Have you ever noticed, hostile, angry, miserable people tend to be surrounded by people of the same character? That does not happen by chance. It happens because your character chooses your destiny.
Choose to be a person of genuine happiness and happiness will find you and surround you. You will meet people who do not subscribe to your way of life and that is fine. It’s inevitable that you meet people who will make you angry and feel hatred. Choose carefully how you respond because that response will become your legacy.
I think Yoda said it best, “If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will …
To sum it up, your character, determines your destiny, and you destiny, seals your legacy. Make sure you know what you want you legacy to be. You control it all by the way you think, speak, and act.
A legacy lives a lifetime. What is your legacy?