Take a moment to think about where you are in life. It doesn’t matter if you are 15 years old, 35 or 50 there is no doubt that a number of people have had a positive impact on your life. Maybe it was a schoolteacher, a coach, a colleague, a boss, a mentor, a pastor or a close friend. People have a way of encouraging and challenging us. Sometimes it is with their influence, sometimes it is with their words and sometimes it is with their prayers over us. But one thing is interesting – most people in our lives will never truly understand the impact these people have had on us.
Think about. Think about those 3, 5 or 10 people that have had a loud voice in your life. Do your friends know the impact they have had on you? Do your kids understand their impact in your life and how it is flowed into them? Probably not.
And that is how building a legacy works. You pour into people with no expectation of them ever giving you anything back. You give yourself to a project or purpose greater than yourself, with no need to be recognized for your effort.
Many people will give or sacrifice to get something in return. That is investing in yourself. But few people will give or sacrifice to something that will never give anything back to them. That is investing in others.
You want to know how to build a legacy? It’s simple.
- Invest in others.
That’s it. That’s the list. Give yourself – your time, your resources, your prayers – to something greater than yourself.