Leaving a legacy is all you have. A strong legacy is not made of monetary value but of heart value. How you lift others to their potential. You create safe environments for growth. When you leave the room, people are better than you found them. Have fun, take business at hand seriously and above all laugh at yourself!

Leadership, love, and life evolve in and out of your personal and professional lives. You may try shutting the door on one without the other, but your stories and legacies follow you wherever you may go.

I have a full history of knowing all of my Great-Grandparents, Grandparents, and a bushel full of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Recently, I visited my Grandpa Eldon in Eugene, Oregon.  He is the last of my vast line of Grandparents and cherished beyond words. I asked questions, heard new stories, and reminisced.

We are all built with our history, stories, and holding truths we cherish and hopefully “deleting” truths no longer holding truth for you. About 30 years ago my dad once asked me where I learned my “values” from.  The heart answer is my grandparents.  They all left me with my core personal and professional business model I created; Potential² Builder.

From ranch life, construction, business deals, play, fun, hiking, wicked card games, hugs on the couch, to out of the blue phone calls. The rich experiences compounded interest in a legacy of heart, potential, environment for growth; cherished bank account full of unconditional love.

There are three main areas’ you can focus on to build a legacy to leave your family, friends, business relationships, and community. Over my thirty-plus year career, these three areas are what I have found to part of the solid foundation for strong families, business, and people who leave strong legacies.

It is never too late to build your legacy and write on the hearts of those around you; what they will say and miss when you leave the room.

• Potential: Find ways to help others reach their potential, be invested, interested, and lift them before self. Yes, put your oxygen mask on first then lift others to their natural gifts. The reward of lifting others is greater than lifting oneself (reward will be paid 10-fold).
  • As I reflect on my potential and when I had the most growth is when others invested, lifted, and truly interested in seeing me succeed.
  • Today I make an intentional practice in my personal and professional life to find individuals who I can lift! The key is people need to have the heart to be pushed and pulled to the next level.
• Environment: Create an environment of risk; let failure be a learning tool. The most successful people in life learned how to fail first.
  • I was able to fail and learn from the lessons. The environment was safe to try and try again. Yes, at times pushing boundaries was the risk and discipline at hand. Remember, we all learn and climb to our potential in our own rhythm.
  • When I work with clients, I have certain questions to hone in on what type of environment they thrive in. When they are “safe”, their potential explodes into possibilities they never saw or thought of before.
• Legacy: People remember how you make them feel over what you have done. Leave people in the room loving themselves and life. Be present, because your presence matters.
  • Be authentic to who you are, and those around you will develop to be a network of believers. Not groupies but your “tribe”. A tribe is people who fill in the gaps, and who you fill in the gaps for as well.  You all benefit.
  • My stories taught me to be present, show up filled up to give first then receive. And perseverance toward ones potential trumps and punches the face of naysayers every time!
  • Have a sense of humor!

Where ever you might be in thought and heart of leaving a legacy here is a poem I wrote about my Grandpa, who is 93. I may be looking at his 93 years; all it takes is 93-seconds to touch someone’s heart.

93 Silver Strands

He is my HERO,

My first hugs, filling my heart,

to letting me put rollers in his hair that tickled us,

until we had to part.

He is my HERO,

He fixed many things from wagons, dollies,

to wondrous buildings.

He is my Hero,

Outlined with brilliant strands of silver,

a gleaming light of Gods Armor.

He is my HERO,

He is 93, standing tall,

with liquid blue eyes,

smile of a warm friend,

loves with all he has under his halo of silver strands.

As he holds my hand, I understand he is my HERO.

93 years shifting through the sands,

93 braids of silver his legacy stands.

Written By: Tracy Worley

Challenge Question: Will you take 93 seconds to touch someone’s heart?

Look UP & OUT!

Tracy Worley

 

Tracy Worley (2015) Authentic Leadership, Authentic Self

Tracy Worley (2013) Red Shoe Courage