“The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.” William James
What a wonderful quote to pull us away from the transactionally-based, short-term thinking we all get bogged down in at times. We are so concerned with “making the numbers” this month, or this quarter, that we miss altogether thoughts about sustainability. Allow me to scale this quote down and give it more of a career-twist. Often, when I am working with a group, I ask each of them to describe what they want their legacy to be? In other words, when you leave the position you have today, how do you want the people who worked with you to remember you? Additionally, how would you like your replacement to refer to the shape in which you left things? Asking these questions and discussing the answers help us to discover our own true north, in terms of values, and get beyond the gravitational pull of transactional thinking.
How would you like to be remembered?
Good luck on your journey!
