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Abstract

couldn’t even bother to notice how much his wife suffered.If he continues down this path, the man will die alone and unremembered.Save for the show, he had no legacy. He did nothing for other people. His entire life’s work was “Hey, look at me. Look at how great I am!” I believe there’s a little bit of that in all of us. Some more than others.But “Look at how great I am,” isn’t legacy.Legacy is the impact we make on our family, our community, and our tribe. Zig’s words will always be burned into my head, because it’s not just sales-talk. This is import no matter what we do in life.We help other people get what they want first.That’s legacy.And it doesn’t matter what you make, write, paint, code, carve, stain, think, or do. Every creator’s path is different. This is the beauty of the work we do. We’re in a unique place. We get to carve a path, through an untouched field.How do we find work that matters?You’re already doing it. You know, deep-inside what you gravitate to. Tom Rath teaches us to start with the question, “what can I contribute?” rather than “what can I do for myself?”The biggest part of building a meaningful life is your level of contributing for others.You can be an introvert or an extrovert to accomplish this. It doesn’t mean you need to be a motivational speaker or team leader. You can affect one person at a time by writing a book, painting something, or building an app that affects thousands of people in a positive way.If we all had the same path the world wouldn’t be very interesting.<h1 id="29da">We’re all dying</h1>We should think about our mortality daily. Not in a morbid way, but as a guide for purpose. There’s no guarantee you’ll be here tomorrow.Therefore, you’ve got to contribute today.<ul><li>What will you do/make/say/be to help other people get what they want?</li><li>What can you do to take 100% responsibility for your tribe?</li><li>What project has nagged-at you for years, but you haven’t started it?</li></ul>Tom Rath says:You might not have tomorrow, but you always have todayStart now.<ul><li>What can you do today to build your legacy?</li><li>What work or message will you leave behind, that will grow af

Options

ter you’re gone?</li><li>Don’t focus on the money. Money isn’t a goal.</li></ul>It’s easy to get wrapped in an idea. You run little movies in your head, thinking of how great your life will be once your finally make it big, or how your family tree will change when you finally publish that life-changing book.These goals — goals we’re all guilty of — are inward-focused.But the best way to feel true purpose is to help others first. I still struggle with this every day, but I know how incredible it feels when occasionally, I get it right.<ul><li>This means we give before we get</li><li>This means we give until it hurts, then we give a little more</li><li>This means we go beyond the sticker-price, put some extra prizes in the bag, or give three when the customer expected one</li></ul>Your version of how you’ll help others is just that — your version.There’s no right answer. The scale in which you help others is up to you. It’s not like you have to cure world hunger to find inner-meaning. All you need to do is make at least one person’s life better with your work.This is legacy.This is how we’re remembered.Not by the things we collect, nor the number of personal, selfish, braggy accomplishments we’ve made. That’s all inner-focus.Nope.We’re remembered by the impact we’ve made on those we leave behind.What’s your legacy?How will you help us?We need your best work, now, more than ever. <a href="https://www.subscribepage.com/tribe1K">We need you to build a tribe</a> around said work, so you’ve got a single place you can reach us. We need your best work today, not tomorrow, because we need your best help right now.This is the work that grows when we’re gone.We’re waiting for you.<a href="https://www.subscribepage.com/tribe1K">Enroll in my Email Masterclass. Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers</a>August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches these folks who want to make work that sells and sell work they make. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.</article></body>

Creators — What Will You Make that Will Grow Once You’re Gone?

How to build legacy through helping others get what they want

This story came from a mis-mash of two things that happened to me yesterday and this morning. Last night I watched an episode of the show Hoarders. My family likes to tune-in every couple weeks. It’s great incentive to motivate us to keep a clean house.

This morning I was reading It’s Not About You, by Tom Rath (of StregthsFinder 2.0 fame) — fantastic, quick read. Both of these pieces of content motivated me to think about legacy.

As writers and creators it’s in our best interest to build legacy-level work.

When we build this type of work we increase the power of our message. If you’ve ever been stuck with chasing a passion, or striving for purpose, legacy is a great place to find true meaning in your life.

As Zig Ziglar taught…

You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want

First, back to the hoarder.

On this particular episode there was an ex-neurosurgeon and ex-senator. This wealthy man had turned his home into a collection of oddities — at the expense of his relationship with his wife and the their life savings.

This guy’s house wasn’t gross, or filled with rats or cats.

The place was a museum of useless antiques. He even made his own Egyptian-like tomb, where he wants to be pickled, put on display, and remembered for all of eternity.

The guy had some cool stuff, sure, but he was completely delusional.

He thought his stuff would be his legacy — that people would remember him forever by all he’ done in his life. The problem was his focus was entirely self-serving.

Everything he did was to make himself look grand, eccentric, and odd.

His mind tricked him into thinking that if he surrounded himself with enough collecting, that would be his accomplishment. He couldn’t even bother to notice how much his wife suffered.

If he continues down this path, the man will die alone and unremembered.

Save for the show, he had no legacy. He did nothing for other people. His entire life’s work was “Hey, look at me. Look at how great I am!” I believe there’s a little bit of that in all of us. Some more than others.

But “Look at how great I am,” isn’t legacy.

Legacy is the impact we make on our family, our community, and our tribe. Zig’s words will always be burned into my head, because it’s not just sales-talk. This is import no matter what we do in life.

We help other people get what they want first.

That’s legacy.

And it doesn’t matter what you make, write, paint, code, carve, stain, think, or do. Every creator’s path is different. This is the beauty of the work we do. We’re in a unique place. We get to carve a path, through an untouched field.

How do we find work that matters?

You’re already doing it. You know, deep-inside what you gravitate to. Tom Rath teaches us to start with the question, “what can I contribute?” rather than “what can I do for myself?”

The biggest part of building a meaningful life is your level of contributing for others.

You can be an introvert or an extrovert to accomplish this. It doesn’t mean you need to be a motivational speaker or team leader. You can affect one person at a time by writing a book, painting something, or building an app that affects thousands of people in a positive way.

If we all had the same path the world wouldn’t be very interesting.

We’re all dying

We should think about our mortality daily. Not in a morbid way, but as a guide for purpose. There’s no guarantee you’ll be here tomorrow.

Therefore, you’ve got to contribute today.

What will you do/make/say/be to help other people get what they want?
What can you do to take 100% responsibility for your tribe?
What project has nagged-at you for years, but you haven’t started it?

Tom Rath says:

You might not have tomorrow, but you always have today

Start now.

What can you do today to build your legacy?
What work or message will you leave behind, that will grow after you’re gone?
Don’t focus on the money. Money isn’t a goal.

It’s easy to get wrapped in an idea. You run little movies in your head, thinking of how great your life will be once your finally make it big, or how your family tree will change when you finally publish that life-changing book.

These goals — goals we’re all guilty of — are inward-focused.

But the best way to feel true purpose is to help others first. I still struggle with this every day, but I know how incredible it feels when occasionally, I get it right.

This means we give before we get
This means we give until it hurts, then we give a little more
This means we go beyond the sticker-price, put some extra prizes in the bag, or give three when the customer expected one

Your version of how you’ll help others is just that — your version.

There’s no right answer. The scale in which you help others is up to you. It’s not like you have to cure world hunger to find inner-meaning. All you need to do is make at least one person’s life better with your work.

This is legacy.

This is how we’re remembered.

Not by the things we collect, nor the number of personal, selfish, braggy accomplishments we’ve made. That’s all inner-focus.

Nope.

We’re remembered by the impact we’ve made on those we leave behind.

What’s your legacy?

How will you help us?

We need your best work, now, more than ever. We need you to build a tribe around said work, so you’ve got a single place you can reach us. We need your best work today, not tomorrow, because we need your best help right now.

This is the work that grows when we’re gone.

We’re waiting for you.

Enroll in my Email Masterclass. Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers

August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches these folks who want to make work that sells and sell work they make. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.