“To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—that is to have succeeded.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” —Shannon L. Alder
You WILL leave a legacy. We all leave a legacy.
The question is: Do you want to define and create the legacy you leave or do you want to leave it to chance?
You get to choose.
One of the best definitions of Legacy that I have heard is “What the people you love and care about think, feel and say when they hear your name.”
Over the course of my career, I’ve had many conversations with people discussing what’s really important to them. As we dig down into it, I find most people, at their deepest core, want to leave something that will live beyond them, whether it’s children and grandchildren with good values, memories, values, family artifacts and memorabilia, books or money.
The solution to answering this question is found in effective legacy planning – spending the time and energy to figure out exactly what you want your legacy to be and then developing and executing a plan to make it happen.
One important concept to understand is: legacy is not just money. There will be a lot of money changing hands in the next 30 years, but that’s not the most important “benefit” you can pass from one generation to another.
I believe good legacy planning, will allow not only money to pass on, but will allow your values to be carried forward. This is truly the only way to have the desired impact on future generations of your family as well as your community.
I believe the legacy you want to leave should be incorporated into your goals and then into your financial life plan.
By asking the right questions at the right time, it becomes easier to plan for a long-lasting impact on people you care about and organizations or causes that are important to you. Start by answering these questions: Who are the people, organizations and causes that you most care about? What do you want them to think, feel or say when they hear your name? Do you have a plan to make that happen? Are you following that plan – to make sure your legacy is the legacy you want to leave?
© Copyright 2019, Purposeful Financial & Legacy Planning
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