Monday Mindset 🏆🚀 3/13/2023
Last week, I was reading an article about William Shatner titled, “I don’t have much more time to live”. In that article, Shatner (now 91 years old) is quoted as saying that “there is no legacy” that virtually all people are forgotten after death, but that “their good deeds live on”.
That statement gave me pause… What is ‘LEGACY’ anyway?? And is it actually even a thing?!
I’m not sure that it really is…
Take Whitcomb L. Judson for example. Do you know how he is? Without googling his name, can you honestly say you recognize it?
Here is the crazy thing… Whitcomb L. Judson invented the ZIPPER. 🤐
The guy invented something that is in virtually every home in the world and something 99% of the world’s population uses TODAY. And You.. and the rest of the world have no idea who the man is!! If inventing something that touches nearly every human life, and has done so for over 100 years doesn’t keep you from being forgotten, what will??
Crazy right? That Whitcomb L. Judson walked this earth from 1843 to 1909, and invented something in mass use today around the world, has been forgotten. Nobody knows his name anymore.
But here is the point of all this…
While I am not so sure there is such a thing as Legacy, what I am sure of is our ability to have a Generational Impact.
Each one of us has the ability to break unhealthy cycles.. To create opportunities.. To inspire others.. To teach our kids what it means to be a Servant Leader.. To be a Lion and a Lamb.. To invent things that can change the world.. and so on.
So here is my call to actions for you today….
1) Think about the concept of ‘Legacy’ not as your name being remembered, but as the generational impact you created in your life.
2) Break any unhealthy cycles in your life. One of the greatest and most fulfilling ways you can create a generational impact on your family is to identify and eliminate any unhealthy cycle that was passed down to you. BREAKING CYCLES inherently begins to set your future generations up for more opportunity and success.
3) Live with intentionality. Life is short and YOU WILL BE FORGOTTEN. Let’s be real… We would all love to have the kind of world impact that our names will live on forever like Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother Theresa. But the truth is, out of the millions upon millions of people who have walked this earth and have since died, the number of people who are remembered forever can fit into the palm of our hands. So LIVE WITH INTENTIONALITY. Be BOLD in your life. Be DEDICATED to becoming the best version of yourself. Have lots of MONEY so you can see and experience as much of this world as possible. Be a GOOD human that contributes more to society than you take.
Lastly… YOU MATTER. What you do matters. How you think matters. What you accomplish matters.
Get shit done while you still have time. Because death is certain and so is being forgotten. But your generational impact and how long that lasts is totally up to you.
Go forth and conquer!
Matt