So if the previous installment (feel like a soap opera writing that) we talked about what exactly legacy is, its definitions, among other things and covered overall ways to accomplish it. Now we’re going to get more into the “nitty-gritty” and delve down deep into the various ways to leave a legacy. Again like I said before, don’t think that this is the “only” ways to leave a legacy. These are just broad topics that I thought of essentially off the top of my head.
This, nor anything else I write, is the end all be all of everything. No one person can provide you all the answers. But regardless I’m going to my best to cover a wide variety of legacy leavings and hopefully by the end of this article you’ll have a very good idea of what exactly it means to leave a legacy and how to do it.
But a first a quick overview of the different ways we’ll be covering, don’t worry if they don’t make sense right way, we’re covering each in depth further down. Roughly speaking there is a personal legacy, blood legacy, influence legacy, and legacy of art. Also understand that these all overlap to one extent or the other and feed into each other. Alright, let’s delve into each.
Forging A Personal Legacy
What do I mean by personal legacy? By personal legacy I mean a legacy where you have a huge impact on a singular or small group of people. This is a legacy that is deep but not necessarily wide. I mentioned a coach in the previous article as an example of this. This is where you stand like a shining light in a single person’s life but your next door neighbor might not even know your name. All parents have this opportunity as do coaches, siblings, teachers, and really anyone who interacts with anyone else on a day to day basis and you’re in the mentor role.
This is where you leave your imprint on someone and they’re better for it. You invest your time and effort into someone so that they may bear good fruit in time. Every father has this opportunity with their sons and daughters. Older siblings have this opportunity as well. Really the way to do this is just seek opportunities in life to help others out. I don’t mean necessarily work at a soup kitchen though obviously nothing wrong with that.
Coaching, teaching, things of that nature. Maybe you have a younger brother or a young person who looks up to you. Mentoring at church or school or wherever. Just anywhere where you can invest in someone on an almost day by day basis. Where you can tutor and mentor them to become better, wiser, and stronger people. What exactly this looks like will depend on your particular desires and personality. I think coaching, tutoring, and certain civic and religious groups are the best way to go about this.
Start a men’s group at your church, at the library, essentially everywhere is in desperate need of male leadership.
Leaving A Legacy Of Blood
In an ideal world a legacy of blood and personal legacy go hand in hand. A father leaves his imprint on his children in a good, healthy, and happy way. The father looms large and good in their mind. But these are not necessarily exclusive. Now at first you might say “Charles, what’s so great about having lots of children?” and I would say “Have you checked your pulse?” you want to leave a legacy? A legacy that’ll continue on forever? Empires aren’t the way to go, they fade in time, blood is the true legacy that lasts forever.
When you have children you extend your blood into the next generation, a true biological legacy. Even when your bones collect dust, a part of your soul lives on. For most of human history having many children and leaving a great legacy of blood was considered one of the greatest things you could achieve. The modern world replaces this with cheap shit like leaving a company or some commercial entity behind.
But what is gold to blood? Honestly I feel this is a very primal one, you either get it or you need to have your testosterone checked. Kidding aside, there much’s to be said to look out at the end of your days and see your blood carrying on in your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. To know they came from you, not in a narcissist way but in a healthy way. That you have passed on your blood and continued the biological inheritance you got.
That when your money, ideas, and influence fade, your blood will still be upon the earth and with it, a part of your soul.
Making A Legacy Of Influence
This is the legacy I think people most often think of when they think of legacy. This is leaving a legacy of influence, money, social capital, and resources to change and effect the world and more importantly the people that you have contact with. Civic leaders come to mind. People who have led movements and spread ideas like fire. Whether Hitler or Abraham Lincoln they both have legacies they’ve left behind. But there’s plenty of less extreme examples of well. This is using more of a public face and getting in front of people.
You can do this through wealth acquirement, social capital, and other resources such as time. You need a platform for this. That could be anything from being the head of a local group to a pulpit to YouTube to a blog and beyond. In some ways this is what I do on a small scale. I have things that I’m passionate about and certain ideas and knowledge I think men would greatly benefit from learning and I try to share it on my blog and help others.
This is leaving a legacy of influence, even if small. Again you don’t have to change nations or have the fate of the world in the balance. Public speaking is key to this, or non-fiction writing, we’ll get to fiction writing in the next part. You write a column, write non-fiction books, gives lectures, or simply speak in your community or to the world through a third party service. This is a very wide mode of leaving a legacy and hard to cover all the myriad ways to do so.
The big thing is to find a platform of some sorts so that others can see you. Again not in a narcissist’s way but just in a you have something important to say and you want others to hear it way. And focus on helping others above all else.
Creating A Legacy Of Art
This is a big one, I recently wrote that I thought story telling was the single most powerful skill for changing the world around you. I think movies are the strongest form of this currently, in many ways Hollywood has just as much if not more power than world banks, but novels are also strong and even telling stories when you speak has power to it. Story telling edged out public speaking and “sales” skills as being the most influential for me. So regardless if its painting, drawing, movies, comics, novels, songs, sculptures, or whatever else you can leave a legacy of art.
Don’t underestimate the power of this one. Art tears through the conscious mind and implants its ideas right in the middle of the subconscious. It goes right around of defenses to the heart. Well at least good art does. Again novels, paintings, songs, movies, whatever. They all have something to say and “teach” in a way. Not teach as in moralizing or telling us “right from wrong” but in showing us something. Could be beauty, pain, love, honor, or whatever but art makes us feel things.
And feelings are they key to influence. I’m not saying use your art as manipulation I’m saying make true good art and you’ll leave a legacy. Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Robert E. Howard, Shakespeare, Frank Frazetta, all these men and more have left legacies that have lasted long after their death. They still effect and make people feel things to this day and will for many more to come. Again don’t underestimate this.
Make Your Legacy
Plenty of different ways to do this and like I said no one legacy is going to stand by its own, they essentially all flow into one another and affect one another. Each influences the other in turn. Make art and you’re expanding your influence legacy, blood legacy goes hand in hand with personal legacy, and all around they all fit and flow into the other in various amounts and capacities. Take some time to think about your legacy and the legacy you’re leaving. Are you happy with it?
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it.
-Charles Sledge
