Did You Lose Your Legacy?

At the end of every year, I often experience a period of reflection. And when I think back on my life, I am happy to see a few brilliant moments.

 

• My bicycle trip across the country with my friend Pat to raise money for kids with cancer. (www.fourdiamondsfund.org)
• My extraordinarily mystical trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota where I was honored to sweat with one of the elders involved in the last Native American uprising at Wounded Knee in 1973.
• My 2 years of full-time volunteer environmental work where I introduced hundreds of students to the importance of preserving the natural world around us while influencing policy at the local, county, state and federal level.
• The brief moments I shared with the radiant Maggie Doyne and her ever-inspirational organization, BlinkNow. (www.blinknow.org)

 

Each of these moments called to my heart. And after each one, I imagined . . . no . . . was inspired to do more.

 

• Start an annual bike ride with college students to raise money for kids with cancer.
• Become a leading environmentalist that would change the mindset of Americans and our wasteful ways.
• Restore the pride, honor and lives of the Native people who had everything ripped from them by our forefathers.
• Move to Nepal and spend a few years in service to Maggie as she established her organization.

 

Sadly, I did none of these, and yet I still think about them regularly.

 

Here’s the VITALLY IMPORTANT thing we NEED to know about inspiration.

 

Inspiration requires immediate attention.

 

When that flash of brilliance hits you, don’t think about it. Don’t ponder it. Don’t percolate on it. Don’t strategize about it. Don’t try and develop a plan.

 

That is not what inspiration calls us to do.

 
 
 

Inspiration calls us to immediate action.

 

It comes from our intuition. A deep, internal knowing in our soul. It promises a life of excitement, joy, fulfillment and feeling fully alive! But it asks that we take immediate action . . . and to trust.

 

That is the hardest part. That is what kills countless dreams and possibilities. Our fear and inability to trust and make the leap.

 

This coming year, when inspiration hits you, no matter how big or small it is, whether it is about your life, your family, your business, a relationship, your community, your future, whatever – take that leap. Just close your eyes and leap.

 

I promise it will lead to an astonishing life you love . . . and it might just become your legacy!

 

First you jump off the cliff, then you build your wings on the way down.

 

– Ray Bradbury

 

Don’t ever question inspiration. As hard as it may be to believe, it is a message from the Universe guiding you. It is an answer or clue to something you have been pondering or wanting for a while. Sometimes we don’t see how that inspiration fits into our life, but without fail it does. The answer to “how” is only revealed in the future, and without a magic crystal ball, it is TRUST that will lead the way there.

 

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Living From Your Legacy

I have lived my life preaching the moment.  Mostly because so many of us don’t live there.  Typically, we either worry about our future or regret our past, both of which take us out of the moment.  Life occurs only in the now, which is why I have spent the last 10 years of my life helping people be present to it.

 

But something is missing from the “now” when it exists in a vacuum.  When one lives their life only from moment to moment or day to day it is not purpose driven.  The “now”, when isolated by itself or lived only for itself, floats aimlessly.  It weakens that infinite power we humans possess called intention – that ability to create what we desire in our lives.

 

It is hard for many to step into the potent space of intention.  It reeks of responsibility and self-determined destiny.  To fully own this power of intention, we must stand in our legacy and reach back to the moment.  Legacy thinking inspires us to ask, “What do I want to be known for?  How do I want to be remembered?  What impact do I wish to have in this world and with my loved ones?”  Standing in that place, the view of the moment becomes clear and powerful.  It becomes directed and purposeful, and you can suddenly see how each moment and choice in your life is tied to the next.  To live without that clarity is analogous to traveling to an unknown destination without a map, compass or GPS system.

 

The great thing about this perspective is that the true choice is not whether to live in the moment OR from the legacy, but rather both.  Live in the moment FROM the legacy.  We must stand in the vibrant aliveness of today, and live in it powered by that vision of, and commitment to, the future we wish to create for ourselves.  Doing so suddenly puts each moment in perspective for us.  It provides a guide from which to choose how we wish to live our lives, how we interact with people on a daily basis and how we respond to the challenges of every day.  The legacy serves as a guide for us and all our choices and starts to give life greater meaning.

 

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

                                                                                                                                   –          Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Your legacy is something that lies within you.  It is a destiny that is waiting to be born.  Coaching can help generate clarity about what is inside you.  Who you really are, how you want ot live your life and what you want to be known for.  Coaching can help you understand what you want your legacy to be and chart a course toward that future.  If you would like to define your legacy, send me an email at rich@empireofhope.com and I will send you an excellent exercise designed by Stephen Covey to help you begin to define it.

 

If you don’t have a compass, don’t forget your bread crumbs!

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