How Will You Be Remembered? Create an Intentional Legacy Plan

 
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Many leaders do not think about their legacy until a moment has happened.

For me, that moment was five years ago. I spent the month of October caring for my mom in hospice and saying our final goodbyes. She was very intentional about the legacy she wanted to leave and not only said it but also showed us in every move she made. Losing her inspired me to closely exam my legacy and my intention. 

It inspired me to move deeper into what my purpose is, what values are most important to me, and how do I want to live those.     

Just a few weeks ago I saw Phil Collins live. He has suffered some severe health issues over the past several years, and yet here he is back out on tour. I was amazed when he announced his drummer was his eighteen-year-old son, Nicholas Collins. I am thinking, at this moment, what does he want this legacy to be? Could he be doing this tour intentionally as a part of his legacy not only for his fans but for his son as well?

Then I saw this moment on stage.

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They had moved over to the piano for Nic to play and for Phil to sing one of his earlier songs. A favorite of Nic’s. The love and admiration filled the room. We, the audience, we're able to see a legacy in the making. 

Creating a legacy plan allows you to be intentional and purposeful in proactively creating the life you want to live. It empowers you to choose your life, instead of drifting from circumstance to circumstance. It should be intentional. Not only will this propel you towards your happiness and human fulfillment, but it will serve as an example and could help others achieve their own most significant success.

“By asking ourselves how we want to be remembered, we plant the seeds for living our lives as if we matter. By living each day as if we matter, we offer up our own unique legacy, we make the world we inhabit a better place than we found it.” - Kouzes and Posner.

A few starter questions to help you identify the legacy that you wish to leave:

  •  What do you want your life to stand for?

  • How do you want to be remembered by your family and friends?

  • What will those beyond your circle of family and friends remember you for?

  • What kind of impact do you want to have on your community?

  • How will the world be a better place because you were in it?

  • Whose lives will you have touched?

  • What lessons would you like to pass on to future generations?

  • What do you want to leave behind?

Now, take a moment to draft a legacy statement… just a draft. Move away from it. Then come back to it, continue to reflect and iterate. Now, make it visual something you read and reflect on daily. 

In January of 2016, I was answering questions similar to the ones above when my thirteen-year-old, Nic, came into my office and asked what I was working on. I shared I am thinking about legacy, my legacy, leaders' legacies and how important they are. He sat quietly for a bit and then said to me:

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Here at the ripe age of thirteen, he was beginning to formulate his legacy. 

My legacy? I want to be known for inspiring bravery in my family & friends, leaders I get the privilege to work with, and my community. I want to be known for creating butterfly moments, those moments when you can feel the flutter of your heart, the flutter of change happening to transform us.

A butterfly moment, a legacy in the making is a project I have founded in partnership with The Butterfly Effect & The Papillion Community Foundation to bring this national movement to Papillion, NE, with a social butterfly installation. 

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My mom had told me in the final days of hospice to look for her in butterflies.   Her legacy also lives on in this important project.

What is a Social Butterfly installation?

It is an art project mural designed to promote positive community change. By harnessing the impact of social media and joining that energy with the contagious generosity of people throughout the world, we can bring real and lasting change that, over time, will grow into beautiful waves of philanthropy.   In honor of Papillion’s 150th Anniversary in 2020, I will be leading the install of 12 more butterflies.   

The legacy you leave is the life you lead.

You get to decide the legacy you will leave.   What will you do?  

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Nicole Bianchi