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If you had to write your own obituary today, how would you describe your legacy?

Rather than seeing it as a morbid task and one best avoided, you could see it as an opportunity to define not just what you have already achieved but what you still want and can achieve.

Success was once defined to me as a function of how much a person has been able to positively influence another. If the measure of a person is not the riches they have accumulated in their lifetime but the extent to which they have made a positive impact on others, how can we steer our choice of legacy?

Authenticity

As a parent, I have long understood that my true legacy is not about how much money I plan on leaving my children but about how well I have supported and empowered them to make their own money.

Knowing the power that I have to influence their lives has been a strong driver in shaping my own approach to life. Anyone who has ever spent time with children and young people will know the futility of saying one thing and doing another because these people have an uncanny and inconvenient ability to point out any contradictions between what you’ve told them to do and what they see you doing.

Success was once defined to me as a function of how much a person has been able to positively influence another.

If we seek to create the ‘right’ type of legacy, then, our behaviour must be founded in authenticity. Our success in making a positive impact on others will also ride on the choices we make for ourselves. After all, how do you encourage someone else to be the best that they can be when you are making no attempt to do the same? While we certainly don’t and won’t get it right all the time, choosing our legacy must at least entail a commitment to trying.

Values

It’s easy to be authentic when you’re clear on your values. What are the traits and characteristics that we wish others to admire and what are the principles we would wish to inspire others to emulate?

It’s a fair bet that most people crave the satisfaction of knowing that they made a difference to someone, and yet how do you share values when you may not even be aware of what they are? Have you taken the time to explicitly think about and define your personal values?

Often our notion of what we would consider ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ is only evident in how we react to a situation or event, rather than as a principle that we can articulate. But how would you describe your view of the world to someone and how you believe life should be lived? To choose our legacy, we must define what we stand for before there’s ever a need to demonstrate it.

Service

I believe that choosing our legacy is not about having to find greatness, fame or even notoriety. We are not all born to be ‘great’ in terms of public acclaim or high profile celebrity, but we can all enable greatness.

Reflecting on the passing of another challenging year, let’s take the time to recognise how much the way we choose to live impacts those in our families, our workplaces, and our communities. As we appreciate the extent to which we can positively impact others, we can make better choices about what we do now and how we will eventually be remembered.

Founder & Managing Editor, ReConnect Africa