The Legacy Drawing Board

Imagination is a tool for innovation.  It is a telescope that lets us see new worlds.  It is a compass that plots the course for adventure.  It is the ship that sails the Seven Seas of our minds.  Our childhood toys came alive through our imagination.  Revisit and reconnect with your childhood imagination to tell a rich story and build stronger relationships.  

There is a difference between loneliness and being alone.  Prioritizing time for self is necessary to reflect on patterns of growth and to declutter distractions that take away from the clarity and impact of our messages.  We cannot have anything to give to others when we have not started by giving ourselves time and space to grow.  Solitude is the enriched soil for the fruits of spiritual and men...

Beauty catches the eye and stirs the heart.  True beauty edifies us because it starts with the truth, progresses to goodness, and completes the journey to beauty.  When we are struck by beauty, we should pause and look for the truth and goodness that reside within.  I encourage you to build your legacy with a foundation of truth and raise goodness up to finish with a work of beautify art.  

I interview Miya Simpson, proprietor of Taste and See Vegan Desserts.  Hear her story as a single mom who homeschooled her child, a new empty nester, a missionary, and an artist who expresses herself through baking.

No matter how talented you are, you can always benefit from the help of others.   Manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin were instrumental in the success of The Beatles.  They provided mentorship to four young lads from Liverpool and helped elevate them into the world's most popular band.  They helped them tell the stories they wanted to tell through their songs.  Do you have a Brian Eps...

Are you seeking work-life balance or life-work harmony?  Are you spending time or investing it?  Listen to reimagine how you live out your day when you follow the principles of good design to bring harmony to your efforts of telling a story that flows.  

Remixing engineers are artists who seek to distill the essence of the musicians and singers from a previously mixed song.  The intent is to bring a fresh clean interpretation to a familiar work.  We can learn from these artists regarding centering the conversation, balancing voices, and giving room for nuances to be appreciated.  Listen to mix/remix your leadership skills for greater clarity.  

Storytelling is an art, akin to architecture.  I cite the challenges DC Studios will have in their attempt to duplicate Marvel's movie success because of the design differences between the DC and Marvel comic universes.  Bringing elements together is the beginning, but you must be able to structure relationships and use space appropriately to tell a story.  

"Dance, then, is the most personal of all the arts...it springs from the very breath of life."  What is the dance of your legacy?  Listen to gain insights from the five elements of dance and how they can be applied in choregraphing the story you want to tell and the legacy you want to leave.  

Have you designed how you will move forward when you fail?  We will all experience failing, but that does not equate to failure.  Listen to gain encouragement when faced with trials and tribulations and learn to see failings as an opportunity for growth.  

The lighting designer is responsible for coordinating light sources to help the director and actors tell the intended story on the stage.  Lighting propels performance from an idea into an inspired function.  As you get ready to take the stage to tell your story, have you positioned your light in such a fashion to tell a story that the audience can clearly see?  Listen to conduct a self-examinatio...

Your message is your legacy.  If you are an immigrant, how do you design and build your legacy from two worlds, two languages?  Or do you have two legacies?  Listen as I share my experience as an immigrant and how this experience has shaped my legacy.  

Are your thoughts, words, and deeds aligned to form positive bonds with others?  Is your word your bond?  Are you weaving honesty in the tapestry of your legacy?  Honesty is a virtue, but it is also a decision by design.  Listen to self-examine the priority of honesty and keeping promises in your legacy design and building.    

I revisit S1E32 when I talked about adult children leaving home as in inflection point in the legacies of the children and the parents.  This time, I bring my perspective as a grandparent on this powerful moment and how to prepare for it from both sides.  

There is a growing trend among Baby Boomers to leave no financial inheritance to their children.  The concept of "dying with zero" is increasing, partly due to the rising cost of living and to Bill Perkins' book that promotes the concept that spending your money now will yield greater happiness.  How you spend your money tells a story.  Have you given thought to how to tell a more meaningful story...

Jeremy Horne is the CEO of Storypedia and has a passion for encouraging people to interview their family members, especially the ones from earlier generations.  In this episode, we discuss the value and importance of storytelling and building connections with our loved ones and with people we have just met.  

Angles play an important part in the game of baseball.  How you round the bases and position yourself to throw depends on the angle of your feet, shoulders, and head.  Life is a series of decisions.  To make better decisions, it is vital that you understand the angles of the situation before you and that you have prepared for this opportunity.  

All lives come with burdens.  How we respond to them determines our legacy.  Moreover, how we respect how others respond to their burdens also contributes to our legacies.  

Frame your story as a trilogy and began to see the power of your story.  Start by increasing your awareness of the people in your life and giving more thought to your purpose.  Journey forward with exploration of the unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  Conclude by committing to overcoming trials and tribulations.  All the elements are before you every day of your life.  Begin your adventure and finish...

We envision ourselves as parents and grandparents.  However, do we anticipate when we are to step into the roles of patriarch and matriarch?  There is a difference between leading your immediate family and leading the family.  This episode discusses the importance of preparing for this possibility due to its significant impact on your legacy.  

Our lives are saturated with measurements.  Grades, standardized tests, work performance, credit ratings, net worth, and so on.  When it comes to our legacy, how should we be measuring it?  The key is to not compare yourself to others, but to seek alignment with your true north and to speak in the most authentic way possible.  

Walt Disney was a masterful storyteller who elevated the medium of animation.  He brought innovations to animation and created the theme park.  All of his efforts focused on assembling talented people to produce films for children and the child inside of us.  

We are all artists.  Some of us just need to find the courage to say it and the persistence to maintain our identity when it seems no one agrees.  Once you embrace your artistic nature, you can begin to design and create your legacy in a fashion that will touch minds and hearts for generations.  

What is the effort, attention, and work you are putting into building your legacy?  Artists pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their body of work.  Your legacy demands the same focus and energy for you are an artist with a story to tell.  

Are you trying to control the narrative of your story?  Or, are you seeking freedom to explore where your story goes?  Excessive control limits and harms relationships.  Freedom represents mutual respect when building a relationship.  Remove the burden of attempting to control your legacy and embrace the gift of freedom to design it.