How Are You Building Your Legacy?

Some legacies arise from a game-changing invention or innovation, or a life-saving discovery, or an inspiring life of service. Most, however, are built on everyday actions, decisions, and choices that leave the world a better place. As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

My brother Peter describes himself on his Facebook page as “a man of few talents, many moods, light-hearted, deadly serious, kind to animals.” Those words don’t begin to hint at the legacy that he is creating. During the last ten years, for example, he was the neighborhood “Grampy,” spending hours talking with, teaching, and mentoring kids who learned they could trust him to help them navigate the choppy waters of childhood and the teenage years. I can only imagine the impact his attention and encouragement will have as they grow up.

Here are twenty suggestions for building a positive legacy by leaving the world a better place than you found it. These techniques work both in and outside of the workplace.

1. Embrace this mindset: “I make the world a better place every day through my beliefs, words, and actions.”
2. Identify and use your talents every day.
3. Help others identify their talents and show them how they can use them daily.
4. Provide opportunities for people to shine.
5. Set yourself and others up for success.
6. Help people feel part of something bigger than themselves by articulating a clear “big picture” that describes the person’s or the organization’s vision.
7. Inspire people by helping them see how they contribute to that “big picture.”
8. Focus and build on individual and collective strengths and successes.
9. Create and sustain a positive, appreciative environment.
10. Learn what motivates each individual and use that information to move them to action.
11. Give the gift of active listening to each person.
12. Mentor others, formally or informally.
13. Use your talents to help improve your community.
14. Spend quality time with whoever you’re with by being fully present.
15. Learn about others by being curious about who they are.
16. Share your life experiences generously with others.
17. Expand others’ horizons by opening their eyes to the possibilities of their talents.
18. Tell others specifically how they matter in the world.
19. Look for the good that people do.
20. Challenge people to reach their full potential: refuse to accept mediocrity in yourself or others.

What will be your legacy? What will you do today to make the world a better place than it was when you arrived?

To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at  www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

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