The other night I watched a commercial promoting Ancestry.com. Most of these feature people who find, serendipitously, that they are related to somebody famous.
I’ve also heard people talk about how they can “channel” their great ancestors who were famous warriors or other ancient celebrities.
Nobody it seems is related to average, regular people. In fact, I’ll bet most folks are actually descendants of laborers or people who weren’t glamorous at all. I don’t know much about my ancestors except for the fact that they didn’t have fame, fortune, or anything interesting worth bragging about.
What is interesting is that I’m the first person in my family to serve in the Military, get a college degree, and start a business. I’m pretty sure I’m the first one to write a book, appear on television and radio, and teach workshops internationally. Now if that sounds like bragging, trust me, it’s not. I simply made the decision to make the most of the opportunities I had and was willing to work hard to create. Maybe in 80 years, I’ll have a descendent who will brag about their great-great grandfather Mack Munro.
Have you ever thought about what people say about you 100 years from now? What kind of legacy will you leave? What great works and values will you pass along?
The beauty of viewing it this way is that we all have equal opportunity to create a legacy now. After all, do you think your life would be markedly better if you were related to a famous person? It seems to me that the best life comes from what you can create right now.
This week, think about what you can do to create the kind of significance your descendants will brag about. We all will have some kind of legacy. Why not make it an awesome one!