Have you ever thought about your legacy? Legacy being defined as “the lasting impact one leaves on the world, both the tangible assets they pass down and the intangible influence they have on others.”
For some reason, I have been pondering that subject lately. Maybe it is because I have more years in the rearview mirror than I have ahead of me. What am I leaving behind when I am gone? (By the way, I have no immediate plans to leave but the timing is not up to me.)
My mentor, the late Jasper Dorsey, was vice president of Southern Bell’s Georgia operations. He taught me a lot about the business world and played an important role in my progress up through the corporate ranks for which I am grateful. More importantly, he taught me a lot of lessons about life. He constantly reminded me that we all have an obligation to leave this a better world than we found it. Otherwise, we have just wasted time and space.
I am pretty much set on the tangible assets I plan to pass on, but what about the intangible? One of the most important things I can pass down is my good name. I inherited it from my parents. They were not wealthy people but their reputation was solid gold. That was their legacy. The intangible assets that they bequeathed me. I pray I can pass along to my heirs But that depends on me.
I have a term I call walking sermons and it is means how we and our actions are perceived when we aren’t aware people are watching us. In other words, do we walk our talk? One of my favorite stories concerns evangelist Billy Graham and it occurred many years ago, back when trains were the principal mode of travel.
He was in line seeking to change his ticket and dealing with a recalcitrant and rude clerk behind the counter. Billy Graham tried to explain to the clerk why he needed to take a different train, but to no avail. After several unsuccessful attempts, he thanked the clerk and left. Standing behind Billy Graham in the line was a newspaper reporter who recognized Graham from his television crusades and waited on him to remind the clerk who he was or to demand to see his supervisor. He did neither.
The reporter later wrote that was probably Billy Graham’s greatest sermon because it showed that he was the same person in the pulpit that he was in line to change his train ticket. A walking sermon.
I witnessed something similar some years ago when I was in New York to attend the Peabody Awards, given by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia. It was late afternoon and famed radio commentator Paul Harvey walked into the hotel restaurant and was told the lunch hour was over. He asked politely could they just fix him a sandwich and he would take it with him to his room. He had not eaten all day. He was told no again. After some more conversation, to no avail, he, like Billy Graham, thanked the waitress and left. I had always admired Paul Harvey’s commentaries but my admiration for the man grew that day as well.
I pass these anecdotes along because as eminent both were in their respective fields, what you saw and heard was genuine. I have a feeling that is how they would both want to be remembered.
How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be? And will this be a better world as a result of your efforts? Or mine? I am fairly sure at this stage of the game I’m not going to discover a cure for cancer or get nations to turn their swords into plowshares or unlock the mysteries of the universe. But I can be a good role model for my grandsons and great grandkids and hopefully influence their behavior in a positive way. I can be a good friend without wanting something in return. I can be loyal to people who know I can be trusted. I can keep things in perspective – remember the Serenity Prayer – and swallow my ego and say “I’m sorry” when I deserve to be.
We are only going to pass this way once. But if we do it right, we will leave things better than we found them. That is and should be our legacy.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139
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