What do you want your legacy to be?
In this age of social media attention, influencers, vanity metrics, and celebrity worship, few are thinking much about legacy. They’re probably focused on how to become rich and famous.
Thoughts of legacy tend to creep into our minds later in life when careers wind down and the kids have grown up. Retirement affords time to reflect on the landscape of our lives, and what we will leave behind.
Legacy can be a gift of personal property in a will, but it can also be things handed down from the past to the future. While the gift of money or property is nice, the greatest legacies are about something deeper. Something bordering on the eternal.
One person I think about when I think about legacy is my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Kossin.
Those who touched our human feelings
I was a quiet and shy boy who loved to draw.
Drawing was a wonderful escape for me, but it was also a distraction from my schoolwork. As a result, I sometimes found it difficult to focus.
My second-grade teacher, Mrs. Kossin, had a warm and gentle way of bringing out the best in me. She took a little more time with me on my schoolwork, encouraging and developing my dormant aptitudes.
Best of all, Mrs. Kossin encouraged my drawing and creative expression. She helped me believe in my art and myself. So much so, that even in my fifth decade I still think about her encouragement and support.
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. -Carl Jung
This is a piece of Mrs. Kossin’s legacy. Part of who I am today is a reflection of who she was back then.
The best legacies come from people who focus less on themselves and more on helping others. They take the time to mentor, teach, shape, and guide others to become something more than they are.
An excellent example of this would be the life of Carl H. Rosner.
Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones
Life did not begin well for Carl H. Rosner.
His parents split up when he was young, he ended up in an orphanage with other Jewish kids, and then the Nazis came. He found himself on a train to the Buchenwald concentration camp.
One day in the concentration camp, the Jewish prisoners were summoned for a roll call. Fear ran high that something terrible was going to happen.
Luckily for Carl, he had a guardian angel in the person of Erwin Lippmann.
The elderly Lippmann looked after Carl and his younger brother. Once, Carl became ill and nearly died from lack of food and the freezing temperatures, but Mr. Lippmann kept him alive.
Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. -Shannon Adler
On the day of the worrisome, impromptu roll call, Lippmann helped Carl and his brother hide in a sewer, where they remained for a few days.
Soon, the United States military liberated Buchenwald. According to an obituary about Carl in the Wall Street Journal:
Carl Rosner found his way to Sweden and in 1952 emigrated to the US, where he worked as a research engineer at General Electric Co. and for three decades headed Intermagnetics General Corp., which supplied material for magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, equipment.
Carl was 93 years old when he died, leaving behind three children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Who knows what wonderful lives and accomplishments all these children will experience. What I do know is that their lives are not just Carl’s legacy.
They are also a part of Erwin Lippmann’s legacy.
Hope to the lost and love to the lonely
Leadership development consultant, Business Management Professor, and author Jann Freed, Ph.D., knows a thing or two about legacy. Specifically, the importance of leaving a “breadcrumb legacy.”
According to Dr. Freed, every interaction we have with others is part of our “breadcrumb legacy.” It’s the small things we do that add up to a life and a legacy.
The key is to focus less on ourselves and more on others.
We live in a culture focused on becoming a “somebody.” Dr. Freed argues in a TED X video that we should “become a nobody.” In other words, be outward-focused, control your ego, and worry less about job titles/roles and more about helping others.
It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely. –Leo Buscaglia
If you want to warm your soul, save lives, and live forever, find a way to help others. Remember the stories of Mrs. Kossin and Erwin Lippmann.
There’s a special place in heaven for people like this.
Invest as much time as possible in your children and loved ones. Mentor the young, cheer on your coworkers, and show kindness to strangers.
When we die, our immediate family and friends will remember us. But over time, as the ones we love pass on, we eventually will be forgotten. This is called our “second death.”
But here’s the thing. Our legacy is not found in how long people remember us. Our legacy is found in the people we helped, and who they become. Our actions create ripples into the future.
Kindness, love, and helping others creates a kind of grace in the world. And that’s the best kind of legacy anyone could hope for.
(Originally published here)
Before you go
I’m John P. Weiss. I draw cartoons, paint, shoot black & white photos, and write elegant essays about life. Learn more here.
—
This post was previously published on Medium.com.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often | Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It | The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex | ..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Illustration by John P. Weiss