Your Loving Legacy!

What will they say at your funeral?  What would you want them to say?  THAT will be your legacy and it will be too late to start working on your life of significance at your memorial. You can begin TODAY to work toward a “life legacy” and really make a positive difference!

How do you leave a legacy of positive leadership?  Who doesn’t want to leave a positive legacy?  Leadership and legacy means being PROACTIVE — being the first to:

- Take the initiative to communicate.
- Set the standard-leading by example.
- Managing, planning, resourcing, and serving those around you.
- Identify vision, goals and priorities.
- Take responsibility and saying (and living) “The buck stops here”.
- Leaders press on and press in; they run counter to the culture of convenience or opinion.

Think about your personal leadership… See life as a chance to identify your purpose, position, passion, and posture and then begin to live as though your life makes a real difference—because it does! Show your quality…

1. To Impress or to Influence?

Would you rather impress someone or truly have an influence in their life? Impressions are on the surface;  therefore, they are often superficial. Influence, on the other hand, is often real, honest, and requires far more time, patience, resources, and relationship. Influence necessitates communication with people and the cessation of self-absorption. Start with being more about others and less about you and you WILL influence others.

2. Your Life’s Lessons.

Many of our life’s lessons are made up from our experiences, relationships, and mistakes. Have you been honest with your fears, failures, frustrations, and feelings? Can you safely share these with others who can benefit from your mistakes? This is the stuff of legacy!

Your hardships serve to shape your life’s message. That life message consists of a spiritual component, your life’s lessons, passions, and mission. Most of what we call failure can be transformed to tangible lessons we can share with those we love. Thus, pain is transformed to purpose and passion when we share transparently about life’s lessons.

3. Your Disposition.

Is your disposition credible, vulnerable, real, and genuine? Do you act and speak with genuineness and transparency in the way you treat others? Are you believable, touchable, straight up, humane, and do you have integrity? Are you “legit” as my kids say? Are you the real deal or a phony?  Can we see the “real you”…?  Who are YOU anyway?

4. Leadership’s Purpose.

People are the priority. Are you able to connect with people and are you a relationship builder? Do you serve and meet needs? Do you truly love other people unconditionally? Can you allow love to define your purpose and thereby your leadership legacy? Can you love and forgive yourself first? Are you a good communicator both in reaching out and listening?

5. Posture of a Legacy Leader.

Do you live in a mental posture of being open, teachable, and always learning? Are you able to lose preconceived notions ideas and attitudes? Do you walk and live in the art of possibility in your day-to-day living? Can you be a life-long learner or do you get stuck in old paradigms and ruts of thinking about life? Have you hung up your “cleats” or “thrown in the towel” as far as learning/living new stuff in life?

6. Passion and Legacy.

Passions define leadership. What are you passionate about? Are you a spokesperson for your passions? What causes, groups of people, or issues do you champion? What would you do for free if it were possible? That is your passion. Who/what do you weep for?  This would be a great place to start living with intentionality and building your legacy.

7. Your Mission in life=People.

Do you want to leave a legacy of love for those around you?  Then invest yourself in quality relationships with people. Be an example to follow. Serve others. Be communicative and relational with those in your life, world, and network. Press in and take the initiative.

8. Leadership and Adversity.

Leaving a legacy of leadership and living a life of real significance means facing and overcoming adversity. How you deal with adversity defines you. Are you bitter or better?  You will need faith to face your challenges. You can come through hardship as someone who can truly serve others and help them in their time of need.

Find your voice and use it toward your life’s passions, purpose, posture, and position to leave a legacy of leadership. Find your voice and your gifts, and use them!! Help others find their voice and their gifts, so they too may leave a lasting legacy of leadership and a heritage of love. You will begin to live a life of meaning and significance and you will leave an awesome legacy!

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