The Ups and Downs to Becoming a Legacy

If our actions are not in line with the type of legacy we want to leave, we can make the change. The legacy may ultimately be the fact that we were able to recognize our mistakes, correct them and move on. It doesn’t matter if we discover this at 14 or at 40.There are many people who altered their course in order to create the legacy we know them for today. Change is always possible.

There are countless stories of famous people who started out to follow their dream and then ended up bankrupt and needed to redefine their businesses and alter their course in order to be the person and the legacy they ultimately became. The story of Milton Hersey is one of persistence. He had no formal advanced education but studied hard as an apprentice in a candy store. His first attempts and selling chocolate failed and his company went bankrupt. He worked on an idea he had to use fresh milk to make caramel and in 1900 sold his Lancaster Carmel Company for $1 million! Walt Disney failed at his first attempt to be an advertising film maker. His company failed in 1923 but by 1928 he had reinvented his company with the creation and introduction of Mikey Mouse and the Walt Disney Company. A legacy does not earn their title by never failing, but by never giving up.

Our Life, Our Legacy - The Reverend Billy Graham

The Reverend Billy Graham said, “The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives.” It doesn’t matter what our religious or spiritual beliefs are, it is easy to admire the legacy that Billy Graham is creating for doing good in the world. I have always respected him as a minister of mankind, ministering to the minds and spirits of people who grow from his words, example and encouragement.

William Franklin Graham, Jr. was born in 1918 and began his ministry at a young age. He is retired now from making public sermons, but he created a legacy of being a spiritual leader for people of all different denominations and has prayed with every president from Harry S. Truman to Barak Obama. Billy Graham, known for his charisma, certainly had his critics and I think that is an important distinction to make in thinking of people and their legacy. It is not always the people that are the most widely accepted or popular who make the biggest difference; in fact it is often just the opposite. What the Reverend Graham did was take a stand on what he believed and defend it without wavering. A legacy such as the kind of legacy created by Billy Graham is often someone who makes us take notice, take a deeper look at ourselves, contemplate how we feel about matters, and even take a stand we might not have otherwise.

Taking Flight

Between 1942 and 1945 the United States was engaged full force in WWII. There are only a handful of veterans of the war still alive and each year they are honored for the great service they gave. Finally in May 2010 the women pilots of that era were recognized by receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, one of the highest awards given to civilians. These women flew a combined 60,000,000 miles in aircraft such as the B-17 and B-29 bombers. Still these women were considered civilians and as such received no military recognition at the time.

Jacqueline Cochran, who was the first women to fly a bomber across the Atlantic on June 17, 1941, also became part of a new flight training program for women called the Women’s Flight Training Detachment in 1942 in preparation for more women aviators to serve their country in whatever capacity needed.

In 2006, women made up 6% of all licensed pilots. It was only as recently as 1993 that women were allowed to fly in combat, even though equality measures were in place years prior to that.

No dream was out of reach for these women who only wanted to do what they loved. They proved that they were willing and able and ultimately created a legacy of service and honor.

Stephen R. Covey said, “There are four needs in all people: to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy.” Every action we take creates a bid of the legacy we are leaving. Back in Biblical times it was the custom of fathers to leave a written or verbal legacy for their sons who would lead their families in his stead. It would contain spiritual and ethical guidance and convey the values the father wanted to see continue. With each message we write in our journal and when we express our beliefs, hopes, and dreams to our children we are leaving a legacy in a similar way. That is why it is still as important today to leave our legacy of values to future generations.

Paving the Way

Some careers are not particularly woman-friendly. Yet there are women who venture into male-dominated fields and make their mark and leave their legacy. One such woman that comes to mind is Sally Ride. At the age of 27, having earned her PhD in astrophysics, she applied along with 8,000 other people to become an astronaut. Thirty-five people were selected and only 6 of those were women. In 1983, Sally ride became the first American woman to go into space. She was aboard the Challenger space shuttle when she made history. It wasn’t too many years earlier that girls who said they wanted to be an astronaut when they grew up were made fun of by their classmates. What a wonderful legacy women who are the firsts in their chosen fields are to young girls and grown up women alike. There should be no limit to doing what you love. Gratitude is due to those who made possible what today we take for granted.

A Legacy Not to Be Taken for Granted

As we think about the legacy empowering women have left behind, not all of them will be famous. Some will be known only to a few. Some will have left a great legacy but not be remembered by name but for what they left behind. Josephine Cochran is one of those. She is the woman who invented the first feasible mechanical dishwasher. It was a man by the name of Joel Houghton who came up with a wooden version, but it was Josephine’s patented design that ultimately was picked up by a manufacturer known today as KitchenAid. I imagine that back in 1886 when the patent was issued, Josephine had no idea that she would have made something that most people can’t even imagine living without. I will think about Josephine each day as my life is made a little easier by her legacy.

The Type of Legacy We Leave

A legacy can be a part of many different compartments in our lives. We can create a financial legacy, a legacy of character, and even a legacy of attitude. Any of these can be good or bad, positive or negative.

I once read a book by financial guru, Suzi Orman. She targets her financial advice toward women. Once she spoke of how her parent’s attitude about money deeply affected her buying attitudes. Her mother spoke of never having enough money. When Suzi grew up she went on shopping splurges and then had to face the dept. It was a negative financial legacy she had to redirect for her own life. On the other hand, she learned that she could be financially savvy, have the things she wanted and gain financial security. She didn’t have to carry the negative legacy of financial worry.

Our legacy of character and attitude has the ability to shape not only how we are remembered but how those affected by our example live their lives. Are we leaving a legacy of determination, honesty, and hard work? Will our positive attitude and spirit of hope trickle down to the character and attitude of our family members, friends or colleagues? There is more to a legacy that genetics or inheritances. How we view the world and how that shapes our character is leaving a legacy of spirit.