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What does Yves Saint Laurent, Jerry Garcia, and Herman Melville have in common? Besides great creativity, they were all born on August 1st. Some people are recognizable because of what they have accomplished, what they have stood for, or how they have impacted the world. Have you ever thought about the impact you are leaving?

John Maxwell said, “Someday people will summarize your life in a single sentence. Pick it now!” Everyone, regardless of how famous, will have their life captured in a few words. However, before you pass from this world, you can impact the words that will summerize you.

Here are some thoughts for help with your legacy:

1. How do you want people to summarize you? If you don’t know what you want to be said about you, then you can never expect people to see in you what you want them to see.

2. Live the legacy. Once you have defined your legacy, live it. Become now, what you aspire to be.

3. Let your legacy grow. You cannot reach your potential by yourself. Who will you teach, mentor, lead, to carry on your legacy? If your legacy is important, then let it live beyond yourself.

I doubt many of you can go into great detail on the life of Yves Saint Laurent. You may know who he was, and what he did, but few details. He was born in Algeria and started designing dresses in his early teens. Later, he attended a design school in Paris, where he was influenced by Christian Dior. After a brilliant career, he died in 2008 of brain cancer.

Caroline Rennolds Milbank wrote, “The most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture’s rise from its sixties ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable.”

What would be the one sentence you would want people to say about you?

 

Thirty-two years ago, the United States led a boycott against the Summer Olympics to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Several countries joined the U.S. in the boycott, and the result is that 65 countries did not participate. Four years later, a Soviet led boycott was held against the Olympic games in Los Angeles.

The decision led by the United States affected many countries, teams, and individuals worldwide. In many cases, individual athletes from boycotting nations participated in the games under an Olympic flag instead of their countries flag. The U.S. decision had a rippling effect on subsequent decisions.

When we look backwards at decisions it is easier to see the impact, then when the decision was pending in front of us. Even though you can’t change many decisions, you can learn from them. You can also learn how to make better decisions.

Whether you think the U.S. boycott was the correct response, an appropriate response, or a weak response, you have to agree, the decision after 32 years feels different than it did at the time.

If you want your team to be successful then make them successful. John Maxwell refers to what he calls “others first thinking”. Do you really think of your team first? If you think of their success becoming more important than your success, then you will see a new perspective on your role on the team.

Here are three ways to focus on your team.

1. Listen to them. This seems like the obvious first step, but you must take the time to put them first. You also must take the time to hear their ideas above your own.

2. Meet their needs. This is a tougher step. To meet their needs, you must understand what will help them be successful. Use your knowledge and skill to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Evaluate the critical skills they need. If you cannot fill the void, then connect up with others that can. Provide the support they need, when it is needed.

3. Provide motivation. Teams that are struggling cannot always see the goal they strive to achieve. Maybe a connection to the mission is lacking, or it does not connect on a personal level with some of the team members. You can provide both. Express why the mission is important. Individually recognize people and why they are important to the team. People want to be successful, sometimes you need to help them connect themselves to the success.

 

Many people make internal commitments with themselves on tasks they need to complete. Often it is as simple as a repair needed on your house, running an errand, or changing the oil in your car. When we make a plan that we don’t follow through with we can cause ourselves unnecessary stress.

I have a long list of things that I need to do in my spare time. However, there is no spare time, just time.

After working all day, I find myself wanting to relax and recover for the next day, but there is still that list in front of me. We can be fatigued by all the things we want to accomplish, and no time to do. We create this situation for ourselves.

Here is a simple plan that I have implemented that helps.

1. Keep a list of all the things you want or need to accomplish. Write them down, keep it up to date. It is less stressful to manage a list than to manage all the items in your head.

2. Define due dates. If anything on the list has to be done before a specific date, make sure you write the date next to the item. If it does not have a specific date, don’t make one up. Don’t give yourself a target. Just keep it on the list as something that needs done.

3. Commit to completing at least one thing from your list every single day. Many days you can and will do more. But get in the habit of never skipping a day. Make every day valuable in your own progress. If you have the time to do more, knock them out. Complete what makes sense. But make a commitment to complete the most important item for you every day.

Following this simple plan, you will find yourself with less stress. You will find that the list is not a roadblock, but an great tool. Relax, and go do your most important thing today.