Next Foundation Blog

I was talking with a few people about the subject of our next Business Leadership School, Leading from the Pack, and even after our conversation, I couldn’t get these thoughts on success out of my mind.

So, I thought I’d share them here, with you:

You should learn from the past.
Don’t wear it like a yoke around your neck, but use it as a platform for your future.

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We have our lives, then we have our priorities.
Sometimes people don’t recognize the difference.

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In attempting any endevour, every leader must be prepared to be misunderstood.
It goes with the territory.

Some of the strongest people I know are not those whom others would call strong, yet they are powerful beyond themselves.

They give people permission to be great, when they themselves stumble.

They have the strength of mind to change. The wisdom to bend and bounce back. An inner courage to persevere and rise above. The resolve to love when all around them are loveless. The determination to strive when all around them give up, and to pursue when all around them stop.

They have the audacity to dream when everyone else lives in fear. The faith to believe when surrounded by skeptics. The tenacity to stand firm when everyone else runs. The ferocity to attack and conquer their inner demons.

This kind of strength is not age, nor gender specific; it is character driven.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

A legacy is something that we all leave for the next generation.

For some, their legacy is the possessions they leave behind, for others, it is books and writings, and for others, it is principals by which they have lived and steered their lives.

But in the end, all of our lives will be summed up in a few words, or at most into one sentence…your epitaph. What will yours be?

What one sentence will describe you and the life you’ve lived?

What will they put on your tombstone?

1) A Legacy Is an Intentional Thing
I believe that leaders should be intentional about the legacy they leave, the impressions they  made on the lives of others, and even the mark they leave on the world.

2) We Choose Our Legacy
We all have the power of choice. We can choose to be defined by our past or to be refined by it. We can choose to live from this moment forward.

We can choose to leave a legacy that will speak to the generations to come by impact we leave behind.

3) Leave a Legacy of Living
The greatest thing you can do to leave the legacy that you want to leave, is to live the life you have always wanted to live, to be the person you have always wanted to be, and to pursue the passions you have always wanted to pursue.

4) Live as Though You Were Dying
Value the family, friends, and opportunities you have today as if today is all you have.

The greatest legacy that you will ever leave is the lives you have touched, the loves you have had, the passions that you have pursued, and the people that you have helped.