LEGACY IN PRACTICE
How do I begin writing my legacy?
Legacy is often discussed as something left behind. That is too late. A useful legacy is written while you can still practice it. The purpose of a forward-looking YOU-logy is not to predict the words spoken at your funeral. It is to expose the distance between what you value and what your ordinary days currently demonstrate.
Write about experience, not image.
Describe how people experienced your presence, reliability, courage, generosity, leadership, faith, and love. Avoid writing a résumé. Titles tell where you stood; character tells what happened because you were there.
Include the people affected.
A legacy that ignores relationships becomes personal branding. Name the family, colleagues, customers, neighbors, and communities whose lives should be strengthened by the way you live.
Work backward into today.
After writing the future summary, underline one quality that is not consistently visible now. Choose one action that would make it undeniable before the day ends.