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.
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John Shaver
And here’s an 11th point: why do local newspapers (like our News-Sentinel in Knoxville) charge for a subscription? It seems to me they should be giving away the paper for free to anyone who is willing to take it. Advertisers should insist on it.
When you get all of their content on your iPad or laptop for free, why would anyone be willing to pay for the actual paper?
Alan Weiss
Or, conversely, put enough value in there that can only be conveyed in that medium so that it’s worth much more and people will pay.
Pete McDowell
Alan, I couldn’t agree with you more. And, some of the points you make extend to periodicals. I get a number of business magazines and the writing is terrible. Poor grammar, poor use of graphics,. etc. Most people in journalism are not competent, but they have huge attitudes and egos that they are very smart and important.
Alan Weiss
You’re seeing the results of schools failing us—people ascending to anchor positions and editorial desks who say “Between you and I,” and who simply read what’s in front of them without comprehension. Contessa Brewer read a prompter and introduced Jessie Jackson as Al Sharpton while looking right at him. Most business writers can’t conjugate a verb.
Todd Sattersten
Alan – Great piece on newspapers, but one correction.
The representation in House of Representatives is based on the U.S. Census as you said, but there are several states with only one House member including Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_congressional_apportionment).
The Constitution does stipulate the number of U.S. Senators stay fixed with two from each state.
Alan Weiss
Thanks for the correction, I was confused on that and appreciate the help!