It is assumed that we all have a desire to leave something behind that implies that we had a purpose to being alive in our own time and place. For some, there is a desire for fame, or even infamy if necessary; while for others, it is to have been the foundation and bedrock of their family, to ensure that their children have the opportunity to do more and do better than they have done. For some, it is to accumulate wealth to pass forward and for others it is to have accomplished a mission to fix some part of the world. Of course, none of these are mutually exclusive. However, there is value in asking yourself what you want your legacy to be and then determine how you will go about creating it.

 

I have to admit, this is all a new idea to me. Growing up in the middle of the “me generation”, most of my decisions were based on what I wanted to do in the here and now. I often say, I did not have children because I was too selfish, and then at a late stage in life I did have a child because I am selfish. Until my son Patrick came along, I really didn’t have any ulterior motive or desire to make a lasting impression on anyone or anything.

Don’t get me wrong - I did have a value system. It was based on independence, accountability and reliability. But the reason was so that I could get ahead and achieve the money and time I needed to enjoy personal freedom. Ultimately, my most precious value is freedom.

 

Eventually I did become a mother and that changed my focus. But not so much as you might think. Independence and freedom are still my driving force. But now I do what I do so that I may pass it on to Patrick. I focus on teaching him:

• 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 (𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 “𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵” 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵).

• 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

• 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺.

• 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴.

 

So my legacy is about ensuring that my son grows up to be independent, valuable and trustworthy. When this is done well, the financial part of the legacy is a by-product and one that will be enduring because he is not receiving a financial legacy, he is receiving a value legacy with the financial tools to pass it forward.

 

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫?

We're looking forward to seeing your answers in the comments below.