What We Leave Behind: Crafting a Legacy
(4 Minute Read) How building a company can create both immediate value and enduring impact.
👋🏼 I’m Alek, a repeat founder. I’ve built and sold one company so far. I share what I’ve learned from building companies in 5-minute reads every week.
What we leave behind
A confluence of life events has me thinking more about what I’ll leave behind. I hope I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, but when I do... what will I leave for the world?
The question of legacy is universal, yet personal. We all wonder at some point what will outlast us. Our work shapes the world. It is part of our legacy. But what are we leaving behind beyond our social media profiles?
Reflecting on legacy
Times have changed. Creating a legacy, in some ways, is easier than it used to be. Now, the internet lets our social media live on after we die. But will those things matter in 100 years?
Our social media profiles will persist. But they don't create lasting, positive change. Legacy goes beyond visibility. Legacy is about making a positive, lasting change.
Creating a positive and lasting change.
Legacy breaks down into subcategories. Knowing them helps you design your own legacy:
Human impacts:
Physical: The changes you influenced in actions. Did you motivate others to change their behavior?
Emotional: How did you make people feel?
Ideological: Did you change how people think?
Environmental impact: Did you impact nonhuman elements? How did it shape ecosystems, spaces, or resources?
These dimensions help me think through the long-term effects of my actions.
The universal desire for a positive legacy.
Most of us want to have a positive, lasting impact on the world. Humans have a deep desire to leave a meaningful legacy. Many of the things people dream of doing in life result in some form of legacy:
Write a book that continues to entertain or inform.
Build something that continues to help people.
Be president so that history remembers your name.
Raise a family that continues to carry your values/DNA forward.
Drive philanthropic change for ripple effects.
The desire for legacy is a near-universal part of the human experience. The desire for legacy drives us to create, build, and influence others.
Leaving a legacy through your work
How does this apply to building a company? My company solves problems and improves lives. But what about the long term? What will I leave behind?
I try to think about both the short-term and long-term impacts of all the work I do.
Building software. I ask myself: does this product have the potential to continue to help people in 5, 10, or 20 years? What would it need to look like for that to be true?
Consulting work. Can the systems, advice, or strategies I provide lead to lasting change? Will my work lead to changes in their behavior long after the project ends? What do I need to do for that to be true?
"How can I create a long-term impact with this project?" Some projects won’t have that lasting impact, and that’s fine! It's about balance. Balance long-term impact with short-term needs.
I want part of my legacy to be to teach people to forge their own paths in life. Too many people don't believe they are ready to pursue their dreams. They waste too much time waiting for a confidence that never comes. The world is worse off when people shy away from pursuing what they care about. Fear of the unknown keeps them from taking that first step. Through A Founder's Life for Me, I hope that part of my legacy is to encourage others to make the leap. Pursue your dreams and, in doing so, leave your own lasting, positive impact on the world.
Moving forward
In the end, legacy is about how the choices we make today ripple through the lives of others and the world around us. The legacy we leave is the sum of the meaningful, long-term changes we inspire.
I want to inspire you to be bold. I want to prove to you that you are ready to make your own mark. So that you, too, can craft your own legacy. What will you leave behind?
#Entrepreneurship #SelfEmployment #Startups #Bootstrapping #Founders #Legacy
By sharing what I've learned, I hope to teach people to forge their own paths in life. Please leave a comment or email me with any questions.