Your Legacy is Now
Life is not a search for meaning from others, it’s about the creation of meaning for yourself.
For over 30 years Alan Weiss has consulted, coached, and advised everyone from Fortune 500 executives, state governors, non-profit directors, and entrepreneurs to athletes, entertainers, and beauty pageant contestants. That’s quite an assortment of people, and they run into the thousands. Most of them have had what we euphemistically call “means,” and some of them have had a lot more than that. Others have been aspiring and with more ends in sight than means on hand.
Alan Weiss states:
I’ve dealt with esteem (low), narcissism (high), family problems, leadership dysfunctions, insecurities, addictions, and ethical quandaries. And I’ve talked about them through the coronavirus crisis. But don’t get the wrong idea. About 95% of these people have been well-meaning, honest (to the best of their knowledge), and interested in becoming a better person and better professional. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be talking to me.
I found the equivalent of the “runner’s wall” in their journeys, where they must break through the pain and the obstacles and then can keep going with renewed energy and spirit. But runners know how far they must go after the breakthrough, be it another half lap or another five miles. There is a finish line.
I’ve found that people in all positions, even after the “breakthrough,” don’t know where they are in the race, let alone where the finish line is.
They do not know what meaning is for them. They may have money in the bank, good relationships, the admiration of others, and the love of their dogs. But they have no metrics for “What now?” They believe that at the end of life there is a tallying, some metaphysical accountant who totals up their contributions, deducts their bad acts, and creates the (hopefully positive) difference.
That difference, they believe, is their “legacy.”
But the thought that legacy arrives at the end of life is as ridiculous as someone who decides to sell a business and tries to increase its valuation the day prior. Legacy is now. Legacy is daily. Every day we create the next page in our lives, but the question becomes who is writing it and what’s being written. Is someone else creating our legacy? Or are we, ourselves, simply writing the same page repeatedly?
Or do we leave it blank?
Our organic, living legacy is marred and squeezed by huge normative pressures. There is a “threshold” point, at which one’s beliefs and values are overridden by immense peer pressure. Our metrics are forced to change.
In an age of social media, biased press, and bullying, we’ve come to a point where our legacy, ironically, is almost out of our hands.
Yet our “meaning”—our creation of meaning and not a search for some illusive alchemy—creates worth and impact for us and all those with whom we interact.
Paul
Succinct.
Accurate.
Thank you.
Alan Weiss
Thank YOU!
Brian Ward
After reading James Ray’s postings on his website, there is no doubt that he refuses to accept responsibility for this tragic affair. I sense there are more than a few lawyers lurking in the background.
Alan Weiss
He’s a hypocritical ass.
Dave Gardner
James Ray has investigators trying to determine “what happened.” If it were me, I’d be devastated that my actions created such a foreseeable outcome. To show he’s the “real deal,” he’s out marketing his next program–he doesn’t want anything to happen to that stream of income he has become so accustomed to. His empire is about to come crashing down. He’s over. And, he will likely see the inside of a jail cell for an extended period of time.
Alan Weiss
But wait until you see the “followers” rally to his support. It takes two to run a con.
arlene rosenberg
Thank you for taking the initiative to speak out on the James Ray incident.
As a dedicated coach/consultant, I have been very disturbed about the sweat lodge incident. For those of us in this industry who show nothing but integrity towards our work, this episode has been an insult.
My heart goes out to all those who have been affected and hurt. I believe this has only motivated me to help people understand that empowerment and prosperity come when we are willing to work hard on ourselves and are guided by people who “walk their talk”.
Pat Tith
I think over half of NSA members bought into it all. I never got it for obvious reasons!!