If you don’t love your life, then maybe you’re not leaving a legacy.

Let me share a way of living I’ve had since I was a little kid and that still serves myself and my clients today…

When I was about 8 years old, I’d spend lots of time out in the woods behind my house. I’d go all the way down the path, over the stream I wasn’t supposed to cross, to the small pond where I would stand at the edge of the water and throw stones into it. 

I loved the plopping sound the stones made and all the ripples that flowed out from there. I loved how the ripples glided out to the rim of the pond, moving things, shaking things up and making a subtle difference to the world of insects and plant life along the edge. 

Before I’d head back home, I’d always search for the most perfect throwing stone. When I’d found it, I’d grip it just right, lean way back and with an ‘umph’ I’d throw the stone as far and high as I  could. 

This time though, immediately after releasing it, I’d turn my back to the pond and quickly run up the path. The stone would still be arching through the sky as my feet thumped on the dirt and the pond hid itself in the woods behind me.

I’d be gone before it landed. 

Leaving a Legacy

What I loved then was knowing that even though I was gone – even though I couldn’t see it and I couldn’t hear it – the stone would most certainly be hitting the surface of the water and the ripples would still be flowing out from it.

I knew that even though I was gone, my having been there was still moving things.

What I was doing as a kid, out at that pond in the woods behind my house, was leaving a legacy. 

There is an even deeper and important insight here too. It is a distinction that allows ‘leaving a legacy‘ to to come not from ego, but from the heart.

Being Remembered vs Having Mattered

At the pond, I wasn’t doing it so that I would be remembered. 

It wasn’t about me or who I was or what I did. There was nobody there to remember me.

I was doing it so that I mattered. 

I loved knowing that even when I was gone, I’d be moving things, shaking things up and making a difference.

I loved knowing that I mattered – that I had impact.

It wasn’t about what the world thought of me, it was about about what I did to the world.

Leaving a Legacy Fills You With Love & Passion

As a child, even in the seemingly meaningless form of throwing a stone into a pond, knowing I was doing something to the world filled me with spirit and passion.

The same applies for us as adults, but somehow we forget it. Somehow we forget how simple it can be to feel passionate and alive.

Knowing that you mattered, even when you’re gone – from a conversation, from a relationship from your life – is the key to the deepest experience of living.

Leave a Legacy Today

Leave a legacy..not just from your life, but from every moment of engagement or interaction you have.

In every moment of your engagement with the world, with every person you communicate, with everything you touch or create – is an opportunity for you to have impact.

Every moment is a choice to either stand on the shore or throw a stone.

You can make ripples.

So get out there. Go throw some stones. And start loving your life.

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This is also why I coach Heroes – people who create impact and make ripples in the world.  

My clients are my throwing stones. I love you all.