They said what about me?

We grew up with the idea that legacy is something you build by creating a ‘thing’. Work hard, create a unique product that goes viral. All the sacrifices are worth it if you just make a name for yourself. I’ve been reflecting on this recently as I’ve been rewriting my will and with that, having to think about what happens to my business when I die. A sobering thought. I’ve been pushed a lot by ‘big business gurus’ to scale, create tonnes of products, to not be ‘the business’ and to remove myself from seeing clients as much as possible. There’s a problem with that. I got into the business because I loved seeing clients and I still love seeing clients. I don’t want to not see my clients. 

This doesn’t mean I won’t scale up a little, or create products that I think will serve my clients, but I hope I will always see clients. 

The truth is that legacy is often the feeling you leave behind you. It’s what people remember you for. ‘He was so kind.’ ‘She was so respectful.’ ‘She changed my life.’ I know that’s how I feel about people who I remember. It’s not what they did but how they made you feel that makes you remember them. 

Whenever I’m having an ‘am I any good’ moment — as we all have them — I sometimes go to my testimonials and remind myself how I made people feel, because that is what is truly important for me. I know the huge change that my work can have on people’s lives; I know it first-hand because I’ve gone through it. At the end of my life, knowing the people I’ve helped is good enough for me. I know the impact of changes for them will have a cascade effect and, unwittingly, I have changed the lives of millions of people. 

I was recently at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. You might argue with me here — ‘Gaudí left a building’ — but for me, really, he left a feeling. How many of us say, that was an amazing stone structure, when we finish seeing it? No, we tend to speak of the way the stained glass window shone a rainbow of colours, making us feel magical. The way the building inspires us with its attention to detail. The genius behind the design, the pain on the faces of the statues. You don’t have to be religious to be inspired by it. His legacy was inspiration. 

So pause today and ask yourself: what legacy are you leaving? What’s the ripple effect you are leaving in your wake as you sail through life? 

What will they say about you?