Legacy has come up quite a bit this week after the announcement of RBG’s death. Julie Cohen The director of “RBG,” the Oscar-nominated documentary on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, told Yahoo News in an interview recorded before Ginsburg died Friday that “her legacy will carry far beyond the steps of the Supreme Court”.
Ginsburg was known for her strength and resilience in overcoming health issues that included five bouts with cancer, falls that resulted in broken ribs and assorted other hospitalizations after she turned 75. But to Cohen, Ginsburg’s perseverance as a woman in a male-dominated legal field was equally inspiring.
“Throughout Justice Ginsburg’s entire career, there was sort of like nothing that could ever take her down,” Cohen said. “If she got rejected, if she got discriminated against, if she got kind of dismissively pushed aside, her response to that was always just to push right past that.”
Legacy can be defined as “something that is the result of events of the past” OR a legacy can be “money or property left by someone who has died”. When you first hear the word legacy, do you consider the results from events or money/property? Consider this from Steven Covey: “There are certain things that are fundamental to human fulfillment. The essence of these needs is captured in the phrase, ‘to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy’. The need to live is our physical need for such things as food, clothing, shelter, economic well-being, health. The need to learn is our mental need to develop and to grow. And the need to leave a legacy is our spiritual need to have a sense of meaning, purpose, personal congruence and contribution.” – Stephen Covey
A Leader’s Legacy (Hardcover) James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner is a book I read that incorporated asking us to write our own eulogy as if it was being read after we had died. By asking yourself how you want to be remembered, you lay the foundation for how you want to live today. If you want to be remembered as someone who inspires others, you will live an inspired life.
Consider this exercise as you ask yourself questions from the perspective you will be remembered by how you affected the lives of others.
• What will my spouse or partner say about me?
• What will my children say about me?
• What will my siblings and their children say about me?
• What will my friends / business colleagues say about me?
• How will people describe you after you’re gone?
• What are you leaving to the world? What are people saying about the legacy you are leaving to the world?
• How will the world define your contributions?
• What will the world say about how you made, saved and gave away money?
• What will the world say about your health?
• Where will donations go after you are gone?
• What will people say about how happy you were?
• What are the most memorable memories you would like remembered from your life?
Have you read my quote from the back cover of my book? “Live life fully every day, love with all your heart and always be prepared – we don’t know when our time here is finished”. -LLL
Do you realize how important the multitude of variables in the “administrative side of life” are? Leave behind good memories. Take care of the business of life while living!
I’m here anytime you’re ready to review what protection strategies you have in place and identify what’s missing and how best to fill the gaps. If you or someone you know would benefit from working with me individually, for their employees or companies, contact me via Email or check out the website @ The Living Planner for additional information.
Stay safe and be ready for anything at anytime! –Lynn
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