What Do you Want your Legacy to be?

At the End of the Day, what do you want to be remembered for?

Over the past few months I have looked back and reviewed some of the questions that have been asked over the years and tried to make sense of the people who I assisted. Where they are now, did they follow their impact statements or did they take other paths.

 I also took a hard look at the demographics of who I have been able to reach and how to improve on that inclusion moving forward. Helping people find their Purpose, Discover the Impact they want to make, and How that Impact will influence the world around them, is just 1 of the ways I will accomplish my goals in life.

While I recognize there are some people that need that road map to survive, you may find your new situation enlightening for a while,

Here are a couple of suggestions from a serial entrepreneur who has a road map but it is much different than others.

·        Decide on your Purpose. Not your career Purpose. Your Purpose. What do you want to accomplish in life? This includes; Professional, Personal, Possibly Geography, & Philanthropy.

·        Think about what Impact you will make on those around you with that Purpose. ]

·        Think about the Influence you will have on others

·        Think about what position types, where they are, what type of people you want to be around as you accomplish these things.

That is your new Road map.

It doesn't depend on one job or another, it only depends on how you want to reach your goal and how you are going to be perceived when you are no longer on G-D’s green earth.

First Question I am always asked

Why – Why are you willing to help me. Just about every person I have ever coached has at some point asked me that question and for many it is the first question they ask. It is the first question that many I don’t yet know personally want to know when I reach out to them on LinkedIn, Facebook or perhaps at a Meetup event.

On LinkedIn it Is easy. Unlike so many others who just click connect, I always add a note and type a customized reason why I am connecting. There has to be a reason though over 80% of the time it is because I have read someone’s ‘About’ or Purpose type statement and I know immediately that I want to make an introduction to a specific person or invite them to join a specific group of people that will both enhance that group as well as provide advancement to that person’s purpose.

In reverse I have often been asked why I don’t accept invitations from just anyone, even if they may fit the overall profile of people I like interacting with. Easy, if they aren’t even in my 3rd level network and they don’t take the time to write a note, it is highly unlikely I am accepting a request. In addition if I see no volunteer work or listed philanthropies on their profile, they are probably not the people I usually associate with and there are limits.

#Thisismyprivilege

In other situations, the answer to the question of Why is actually quite simple. Because it Is what my parents would have done if given the opportunity. My father was a college professor whose clear purpose was teaching the value and usage of mathematics in real life situations. While I was only able to sit in on a few of his classes as an undergraduate, he always provided an example of what a particular equation or theorem would be used for during a class. While I didn’t always understand the equation, I usually understood the purpose. He had a much wider purpose however and after he passed away it was clear what it had been. He helped people. He helped get from wherever they were to wherever they were going, quietly, pointedly and repeatedly.

 My mother, after working on Ellis Island in the 40’s, worked through the 50’s in an accounting office but after meeting (being introduce to) my father in the Mid-50’s, she married, raised a family of 4 and volunteered throughout her life. She too stood up for people who needed someone to stand up for them. She earned multiple Lifetime achievement awards from  2 organizations whose only purpose was to create community, provide social and community services and simply stand up for people who needed a helping hand. Why, because they were my parents and my privilege was having very strong examples of what to do to make an impact and then to do it and not expect anything in r eturn.

So Why is Knowing Your Purpose So Important before finding your next job?

At some point everyone has to ask themselves a question, are they working a job or do they want a career. Each person has to ask a 2nd question, what do they want out of life. For many a job is just a means to the end. They work a series of positions over a 40+ year career, they make a livable salary, get married, have children, help their kids pay for college and around and around they go. Others have a purpose in life, they graduate college, do some volunteer work or even take a year off and teach, or volunteer or even work on a political campaign in order to have an effect on our Nation’s future. Others however sit down sometime between the end of high school and their college graduation (of other type of vocational training) and think about what their purpose is, think about the impact they are going to have on the world and the people around them.

This is what I help people find, their Purpose which leads to their Impact and how they are going to Influence whatever they set out to do. Let’s be clear, my hope is that people want to have a positive purpose, a positive impact and influence whatever they are doing in a good way. There are those that may be more selfish and know that their impact will be positive for themselves and perhaps their family and will have an overall negative influence on the world around them. These are people I try to avoid, don’t care to help and when they find their way into my network are quickly identified and banished.

Identifying Your Purpose

This is different for everyone and speaking to your parents, close friends (don’t poll Facebook or LinkedIn), your actual friends, the people who know you, the people you might sit down with for a late night drink or an early morning coffee. I did this when I was about 20 and a professor at Rutgers assigned everyone else a paper looking at some esoteric philosophy and asked me to write a paper on what my purpose was.

Let’s be clear Professor Budd Chavoosian didn’t accept my first response and I clearly remember sitting on the Green at Douglass college (yes near Passion Puddle) for a few hours with him discussing what was wrong with it. It was the 2nd topic I developed before he recognized I was really working on the issue. It was then that I came up with the process, the characteristic of purpose, the meaning of life. It was then that I figured out where I was ultimately headed. He helped understand the concept of creating a road map and while it may not have included all the trips and tumbles I have taken, it has certainly allowed me to retain my integrity at every stop along the way.

My Purpose in life was determined during that semester. 

Life itself drives people in different directions, but with a core Purpose, one can ensure that their impact is remembered long after they are roaming this earth.

Other article by the Author https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/eugenebarlaz/detail/recent-activity/posts/

Eugene Barlaz, the Author, has over 25 years’ experience managing global projects in the technology, financial and healthcare industries. He has spent a good deal of time building a solid professional and philanthropic network. He can often be found helping others find their purpose, determine what they want their lifetime impact should be and developing a road map to find their success.