ONE QUESTION

We too often suggest that life isn’t meeting our expectations. Yet what if we were to ask ‘what is life asking of me?’

Until we answer that question, life will never live up to our expectations.

ONE THING TO PONDER

We lack depth and self-worth, so we focus all our energy on productivity for the purpose of validation from others.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

I sat at a funeral this past weekend and got punched in the chest by a realization I couldn't shake.

This wasn't just anybody's funeral.

This was a man who had everything the world told us we should have to be happy.

A yacht. Multimillion-dollar homes in two states. Magazine covers. Vintage cars. International recognition. 

This man by every metric of evaluation was hugely successful. 

And yet…..

Halfway through the service, something started nagging at me. What I was hearing wasn't a life. It was a résumé.

As I listened to the first half of the service, there was great testimony to all the things that he accomplished. 

The things he accumulated. The houses, the boats, the cars, the professional respect…he had and did all of it… 

Nothing short of impressive. 

Then something rocked me. 

Very little was shared about him as a human being, who he was as a man that wasn’t connected to his accomplishments or possessions. And it broke my heart a little. 

That silence was deafening. And it asked me a question I haven't been able to put down since:

“What will be said about me that has nothing to do with what I owned or achieved?”

I’m not suggesting he wasn’t a good man. 

I’m not suggesting he wasn’t generous. 

But I also couldn’t shake the feeling that it felt emotionally empty in that room to me. 

With all the success and accolades, I completely anticipated a much larger crowd in that room to celebrate his life…the room felt empty too. 

My Point? 

Legacy has more to do with what we leave IN people vs what we leave FOR them. 

But it cannot, it simply can’t, replace being present in the moments that change people. The conversations that redirect a life. The way we make someone feel seen when no one else did. The seeds we planted in people that grew long after we forgot we even planted them.

That's the stuff that fills rooms.

That's the stuff that outlives us.

Look, money is important. Yet, the truth is it’s just a tool. 

It creates optionality. 

It provides opportunity. 

It helps create ‘safety.’ 

All of them are important. 

Yet it’s not a sufficient replacement for being part of meaningful moments with others. 

How we treat people matters.

How we make people feel while in their presence matters. 

The emotional deposits we make in people are far more valuable than money. 

But I’ll suggest none of those are important if the room is empty at the end of our time. 

The Path Forward 

Legacy is far beyond money. 

Legacy is far beyond accolades, accomplishments, and titles. 

Legacy is the stuff that stays with people throughout time, even if they don’t remember it originated from you. 

It’s still worth planting those seeds that can live on forever. 

Onward and upward!

LEAD & LEARN : WEEKLY PICK

PODCAST

19 Uncomfortable Truths About Human Nature w/ Gurwinder Bhogal

Modern Wisdom

LEADERSHIP IMPACT : Training Testimonials