What Does Legacy Mean? Creating a Lasting Impact

When you feel like you are here to make a difference in this world, whether that is on a global scale, for your community or for the people you love most in life, your thoughts, decisions, and actions matter because that is where your legacy starts. Creating a lasting impact, requires you to focus on the ways you are remarkable, which includes your special gifts, skills, and talents, as well as your personal vision for the difference you want to make. All of this, along with a few more insights that I share below, will help you establish a legacy that matters to the people whose life you want to change.

What Does a Person’s Legacy Mean?

Let’s start with the actual definition of legacy. From the Oxford Dictionary, it means, “The long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past, or of a person’s life.”

But what is missing in that definition, is that your legacy is actually built in the now.

It is created in all the words you share in the moment, the actions you take to bring your vision to life, and in the way you use your personal abilities to transform the now into something greater. As people look back on those interactions, what they remember about their time with you, is your legacy.

The foundation of a person’s legacy is laid when they:

• Define a clear vision for their future based on what’s important to them.
• Clarify the impact they want to make.
• Align their actions with their vision to bring it to life and take steps daily toward it.
• Serve other people to create the highest good possible in the moment and beyond.

When you understand the kind of transformation you want to make, and then you ensure that everything you do embodies that mission, you become a beacon of light that shines so brightly that the people who need you are magnetically drawn to you, and your legacy organically grows from there.

What is an Example of Legacy?

Examples of legacy are so different from person to person. Some have created impact on a huge level, like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Marie Curie, or Albert Einstein. Others make their transformation at the community level. Think of people like a mayor, pastor, or local media or social media influencers. And for some, the most important legacy they can create is done for their family or close friends. While that is acted out on a much smaller scale, it is no less impactful. Every kind act we do for another human being, matters.

Legacies are also created and supported through products like a book or a course; services such as coaching or volunteering; and by serving a need with a solution to a problem that you create with your special know-how. Your legacy can even be built by making sure your family members are set up to have a great day before they leave your house.

Each one of these things can give a person something they didn’t have before they interacted with you, which can create a lasting impact and be both remembered and cherished for years to come!

What is Legacy in Your Life?

This is the question you must answer for yourself. It must come from inside you and it has to light you up so much that you love to live and breathe it every day.

To start defining what legacy means in your life, consider:

• Your values and your personal definition of those values,
• The ways you can act upon or act out those values daily,
• Your vision of the future and the transformation you want to make,
• The people you want to serve and the need you help to fill,
• The skills, gifts and talents that are yours and how you can use them to make a difference,
• And the small steps you will take each day to deliver the transformation you want.

Your legacy is created in the way you show up in each minute of the day. It comes through in every interaction you have, and it is built with every action you take. The more focused you are on what matters to you and the kind of change you want to make in this world, the more likely you will be to create a legacy that has a positive impact on the people who matter most to you.

If you want to learn more about Creating Your Living Legacy, my podcast on the topic will give you the steps to create a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. CLICK HERE to listen now.