Would you like to live a life of greatness and leave a lasting legacy? I think it’s safe to say that most people would say “Yes!” to that question. But many people aren’t sure how. Maybe that’s you.
Achieving success in your life is to be admired. It means you’ve put in a lot of energy and hard work to get there. It means you made the decision to go after your goals and visions. It means you made sacrifices in order to achieve at higher levels.
But what if there is a way to up-level your success to achieve an even greater reality? Would you want that?
The way to achieve this is to shift from “success thinking” to “significance thinking.” It’s a subtle shift, but it is what leaves a lasting legacy. A personal example of this is my grandfather. He passed away at the age of 69 when he lost his battle with cancer. He had a successful business career that he retired from several years earlier. He was a leader in his church. He was a city councilman for many years. He was an incredible father and grandfather. He took every opportunity to make an impact in the lives of people he met, even the hospital staff that took care of him up until his last day of life. He left an incredible legacy for me and my family. He did this because he didn’t settle for “success” alone. He chose to live a life of significance.
You can too. But how do you do it?
When I coach clients on how to discover their purpose, I share four key areas to reflect upon:
1 – Gifts/Skills/Abilities – What are you good at?
2 – Experiences – What personal and professional experiences have you learned from over the years?
3 – Passions – What energizes you? What angers you that you want to fix? What motivates you to get out of bed each day?
4 – Needs – What needs do you see around you that you can address?
When you find the intersection of each of these areas, you will find your life purpose. As you grow throughout your life, your purpose will grow as well. Defining your life purpose is a key step to shifting from success to significance thinking.
Let me give you two ways to make this shift:
1 – Invest in your personal growth.
Are you continually growing? Are you finding new books, articles, conferences, and trainings to attend? Do you have a mentor or coach? Are you filling your own tank so you are filled up to pour into others?
While it may be an overused analogy, putting your own oxygen mask on before you help others is critical in emergency situations and investing in your personal growth is as important in living a life of significance. Create a personal growth plan and determine to grow day after day.
2 – Find ways to invest in others.
As you grow personally, you will be able to help others more. It could be mentoring a fellow employee. It could be helping a neighbor. It could be mentoring your child(ren). It may be serving the under-resourced and homeless population in your city. It literally could be dozens of ways. Go back to the process of discovering your purpose and seeing the needs around you. Investing in others is what builds legacies.
You have so much more to offer than you can imagine. Don’t settle for a life of mediocrity. Instead, go after a life of significance. Read one of my favorite quotes from Nelson Mandela:
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
You are capable of so much! Choose to lead your life BIG – Be Intentionally Great – by growing and investing in others. I believe in you. I can’t wait to see the legacy you leave while you move ahead in this incredible journey called LIFE!
***If you need to clarify your purpose and/or learn how to break through barriers holding you back from reaching your potential, please contact me. I would love to help you advance in your life.
