Personal Branding, Leaving A Legacy

Today I thought I would share with you a recent response I gave to a question on LinkedIn. The question was essentially about what kind of legacy you want to leave. This is a great question that is often used in coaching to help people focus on what is ultimately important to them. This is, essentially, a personal branding exercise as well. How you answer the question say a lot about you, what your values are and your purpose. In writing my answer, which I quote verbatim below, I realized that what I'd like my legacy to be has changed over the years from wanting to leaving something concrete that people could point at to the more abstract legacy of having a positive influence on the live of people I meet, and hopefully, on the lives of people they meet.

Here's my LinkedIn response (and remember to follow to the end for a special offer)

"When I was growing up I wanted to leave something that people would refer to long after I was gone. Write a book or article. My senior year of high school I achieved that goal with having 2 photos of Halley's Comet published, one in the May 1986 issue ofAstronomy magazine and another in Looking Back: Amateur Adventures Observing Halley's Comet by David Deskins. 

As I've grown older I've find the legacy I want to leave is more about the impact I have on others. The difference I make in the life of an adult or child because I was there to show them how to do something so that they could succeed with whatever they were trying to do. When former colleagues and students write me years later and let me know that something I shared with them set them on a path that has made all the difference in their life, and that they are sharing that with others I know that have a legacy now. 

Whether people know that it was me or not who helped them, is immaterial. What's important is that I'm leaving the world a better and happier place because I have been here."

What would you like your legacy to be?