Dr. David Rafeedie

Hand me downs are a mixed bag. When kids are younger, and all they see are new clothes they are great. But as they grow and they realize they are wearing clothes that at one time belonged to someone else they begin to feel, shall we say, uncomfortable with the whole idea. I didn’t have that problem. My brother was 14 years my senior. When I was two, he was sixteen. The math didn’t work—neither did the clothes. However, I must say I coveted his letterman jacket he earned playing football at Serra High School.

Legacies can be a mixed bag too. A legacy is something handed down from one generation to the next. A person might leave a very positive legacy in their area of influence, or it might be a legacy of wreckage that must be cleaned up by others.

Executives leave legacies in their corporations, team leaders and managers leave legacies too as they move on. Perhaps most critical, moms and dads leave legacies to their children.

Legacies are not built in a day, or a week, or in a couple of years. Legacies are the sum of one’s life and endeavors. You are building a legacy as you live and work; at times intentionally, and a great degree of the time as you maneuver through life’s circumstances and events without giving any thought to legacy. How you react to things, what you do daily, how you handle living on a day-to-day basis is the stuff of legacy. Most of us will not earth-shaking things, but we all impact the people around us and the organization we lead.

Almost every time a politician reaches the end of his or her tenure, we hear how the last year or two is devoted to leaving a legacy. Too late! What do you think you have been doing all this time? What usually happens as they begin “leaving a legacy” is they put something in place that ticks off half the population. People remember how they finish, but that is hardly a legacy. On the other hand, if you live the kind of life that leaves a good lasting legacy for the people who follow you, the end speaks for itself.

One of the greatest, arguably the greatest, basketball players of all is Magic Johnson. Being from the greater Los Angeles area I was and am a big Laker fan and I would argue for the “greatest” designation. I think he was the greatest because he made everyone around him better. I don’t know how many times he led the league in assists, but he holds NBA records for assists in the regular season and the playoffs. As a result, the Lakers won championships. The Lakers’ achievements during his playing years reflect his legacy. He is still in the business of making people around him better. It is the way Magic lives his life, and his legacy is far greater than his tenure as a Laker. Check it out, www.magicjohnson.com.www.nba.com/history/legends/profiles/magic-johnson.  Magic will be remembered for the way he played the game and for the way he lived his life.

It boils down to this; our legacy is a reflection of who we are. We cannot build a legacy that is contrary to how we consistently live. That being the case, what is most important in building the right legacy. I submit there are four foundational pillars upon which legacies are built, for good or for bad.

1. Identity: How we view ourselves determines our worldview. Our identity either gives us the confidence to live and work boldly or hide in the shadows. I am not talking about positive thinking or trying to fool yourself into being someone you are not. I am talking about who you are. If you have confidence in yourself based on who you are, then you can make that sale. You can lead people, and you can confront difficult circumstances with success. As a Christian, I take my identity from God. I see myself as a child of God, and that determines my worldview and how I live. From whom or what do you derive your identity?

2. The second foundational pillar to determine your legacy is character. Character stems from your identity. The kind of character you possess determines your priorities and values—why you do what you do. Your motives. Many don’t realize how transparent their motives become as people interact with them for a while. And your motives will motivate or demotivate the people you lead one way or the other. Your character will determine whether you serve others, or you are serving yourself. That impacts your success in any endeavor, from marriage and family to your work environment.

3. Your character determines the principles you live by—how you do things. Our principles are the third pillar of building a good legacy. Consistency, integrity, trustworthiness. Those are the kind of words that people use when you live by the right principles. A principled leader can accomplish more than a leader who is a selfish opportunist. Or someone who constantly shifts with the prevailing winds of the latest fad.

4. Your principles will determine the decisions you make and the actions you take. What you do that conforms to your character and principles. As Neil T. Anderson says, “No one can consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with who they are.” That would include all of your environments. At home or work, our decisions and actions reveal who we are and what is important to us.

Leaving the people who know you better for having known you is the core of lasting legacy. That is a hand me down that will impact people and organizations for the better. Here is some good news—it is never too late to make the kind of change in your life that will lead to a positive legacy. The road to change is never easy. It requires intention, will, skill, and help. The right coach can be helpful for you.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

What will your colleagues say when you leave the organization? Not the public testimonials, but what will they say as they talk among themselves?

What will your family and friends say about you when you die? Not in the public eulogies, but as they speak about you when no one else hears.

If you want to read more about similar topics or other issues, see my website. If you would like to have a conversation you can contact me through my website too. Check it out at  www.davidthecoach.com.