One Question To Discover Your Impact And Legacy

I went to Nicaragua for a humanitarian trip and it led to many introspective moments, one in particular I want to share with you. 

I was remarkably safe the entire time - the people there are so kind but there’s always risk when you visit a foreign country and go to remote villages. That must have been in my mind as I arrived at a very meaningful question:

Let’s say it all ended today, and my friends and family wanted to distribute every dollar to my name in my honor… What would I want them to do with my money?

Of course our impact is about way more than where we put our money, but it’s an interesting scenario to consider. Sad and hopefully not going to happen any time soon, but interesting.

What are the specific causes, communities, or organizations you’d really want to impact? Is there an initiative you’re starting that you’d want them to help bring to life? Remember it’s not money for your friends and family, they’re the ones allocating it on your behalf.

For me, what I’d want them to do is carry out the vision I have for my nonprofit the For Purpose Foundation. I’m building a movement helping people change their life and change the world. Where people become the best version of themselves and in turn give their best to the causes they care about. 

And while that’s what I’d want them to do, if I’m being honest, I don’t know that the people who are closest to me would know to do that. What that tells me is I’m not showing up as big or as bold as I could be for what I believe in and care the most about.

Which leads to an important perspective that extends off of the original question: If that’s what you’d want people to do with your money if you weren’t here, why isn’t that what you’re doing with your time, talent, and money while you are here?

I’m realizing that I’ve been too passive about the movement I aspire to build. I’ve been waiting for the right conditions, the right context, the right timing. And I imagine you might be too.

I want you to seriously consider this question: If you wanted your friends and family to distribute every dollar to your name and carry on your legacy, what would you want them to do?

And further if you have the courage to do so, ask yourself what’s holding you back from investing more of yourself in exactly that right now?

Cheers to changing our life and changing the world!

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