How to Activate Your Love Affair with Legacy

By: Randi Levin

In so many ways, my love affair with the concept of legacy is a validation of self-love and an affirmation of success. My parents divorced decades ago, and from that moment on I had a tough choice to make.

Could I self-lead? Would I, at 17, a teenager of divorce, manage adult decisions independently? The moment called for it. I rose to it.

Sure, there were many mistakes and failures over the years, and several times where fear led me away from myself instead. Yet, what I learned at a young age stuck with me though every nuance of my life. With or without adversity, we each have the capacity to empower ourselves. No matter who you are, you own that power.

The trick is to use your power. The trick is to lead you.

My intimate affair with legacy began as an offshoot of self-leadership. Truthfully, it began as I tumbled into a half-century birthday. It was at that juncture that I realized that legacy is less about what I leave behind at the end of my life, and so very much more about the decision-making and risk-taking that curate and drive my life right now in this moment in time. It is that micro-mindset tweak that set my heart ablaze!

If I want to live a legendary life, it means that I need to own the choices and the actions that foster that. It is not enough for me to leave a legacy behind. Instead, I need to create my legacy each and every day by design. In order to live a legendary life I need to actively BE LEGENDARY! The power to do so belongs to me. It belongs to you, as well.

Empower decision-making and you control your legacy.

I am sharing my love affair with you because reframing legacy as an actionable and moment-centric goal literally changed the course of my life. Instead of my life happening to me and unfolding before me, it is instead happening for me and strategically expanding.

Becoming is not something that randomly happens to me, or to you. Becoming is actively being legendary in the 24-hours you are in. That requires you to believe in, invest in, and build upon your own value.

Fall in love with today, and success follows. Fall in love with yourself and you “live legendary.” Fall in love with legacy and you initiate choice. Fall in love with decision-making and you focus and achieve.

1) Return your focus to today.

Every morning, make it a habit to ask yourself this question:

How will I use today?

Then detail three ways that you will use your day.

Every evening, ask yourself this question:

How did I use today?

Then detail three ways you actually used the day.

Do this every day for a week, and then on the seventh day, take a look back in. Reflect on your power of decision-making.

Are your intentions backed up by your commitments? Are you running your day, or is your day running you? This is a great way to keep a personal inventory on what you are setting out to do versus what you are actually accomplishing.

[Related: The Secret to Cultivating Resilience]

2) Reward the actions, not the results.

Many of the projects and goals you work on have multiple components and you may not always get all of the results you are seeking. Instead of holding onto a perfect completion, get in the habit of celebrating the small action steps that you did accomplish.

Using your smaller wins as momentum toward larger objectives supports you in refreshing your focus on your progress and reminds you of your ongoing success. This is a great mindset trick to push past the concept of wasting time or abandoning goals.

Time is only wasted when you are not in action. All action counts! So, position the idea of flexible goals that allow you to shift and lean into your wins as markers for next ideas and decisions.

[Related: The 7 Lessons To Remember For Your Entrepreneurial Journey]

3) Create a love box.

Give yourself a box of self-love. Find a nice gift box in any size you would like. Now place inside this box unconditional self-love. Since it is not sold in any store or online at Amazon, you need to manufacture this yourself in whatever way you want to imagine it.

No two boxes will ever be alike. This is a box of intentions. It is a box of choices. It is a box of legacy. The symbolism of this box is a reminder to look within yourself first.

Close the lid and wrap the box up. Your love box is your special portal of unconditional self-love given to you, by you. Whenever you need an extra dose of love and legacy, just go to your box. You can unwrap it if you want to and open and close the lid at will, or you can leave it wrapped as a token reminder of your significance and value. Build your legacy directly from here!

It begins with you.

One choice and one action step at a time.

[Related: Let More Strange and Wonderful Thoughts into Your Head]

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As a transitional life strategist and reinvention expert, Randi Levin supports founders, emerging entrepreneurs, and women in various life transitions in redefining success and legacy as power tools for change.

Originally published at https://www.ellevatenetwork.com.