How to live a legacy lifestyle
- dr Gustav Gous
Selfish people only live for themselves; truly great people live beyond
themselves. Selfish people are abusing people and the earth’s resourses for
personal gain. Great people live a good life for themselves, to be in a
position to help others to achieve the same. William Shakespeare said, “What
man is a man, if he does not make the world a better place?”
Probably most important question in life is: What is your legacy going
to be when you finally leave the earth? As a wake-up call, ask yourself about
your current reality as far as four aspects are concerned:
People: Are they better off after they met me or now
hurting and bleeding?
My family: Are they better off or do they need therapy
because of me?
Nature: Is it still in a good shape or will be more polluted
and worse off after I have left?
Society: Did I leave my country/group/community in
better shape or a worse off? Did I put structures or organisations in place
that will benefit others?
Remember: Inheritance is the money you leave behind, a legacy is what
you leave behind in people, nature and society.
Swami Vivekananda puts it like this, “The great secret of true success,
of true happiness, is this: The man or woman who asks for no return, the
perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.”
Funeral speeches:
The ‘legacy question’ is the one question that other people will answer:
After your funeral will they have good or bad things to say about you, or will
they say nothing, just to be polite? I always motivate people to make it easy
for the pastor who must bury them. Please make it easy for him/her and give
him/her something to say!
The good news is, you are in control and you can determine what they are
going to say through good life planning. One way to do this is through reverse
engineering: Begin with the end in mind. Ask yourself,” What do I want the
following people to say at my funeral?”
My partner, my child/children, my work colleagues, my friend, my competitors, a representative
from the community, the President of my country, the General Secretary of the
United Nations, and God, who gave me the gift of life:
Design your life
Design your life with this in mind and prioritize your actions
accordingly, to live up to it. Live the way you want to be remembered. The best
wat to do it is to ask every day: If all that people have to remember me by, is
just my actions, attitudes, and words of today – how will I live today. That is
a sobering thought and enough to assure that you have a great legacy.
People who have left great legacies on earth are not only the great
industrialists like Ford, Nobel or Kellogg, who create foundations and big
trust funds for charitable purposes. Or Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. The legacy
people are also normal people like you and me who realised there is yet another
level beyond success – the level of ‘significance’ where you live beyond your
own needs to go to the next level to serve others. Albert Pike said: 'What we do for ourselves dies with us. What
we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.’
My call to action is: “Live a good life for yourself to be in a position
to give it away to others.' Work for a
cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don't strive to
make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt. Leave not only the
money, but also the legacy.
If you want more information on corporate interventions or how to make counselling/coaching appointments or book dr Gustav Gous for motivational talks, contact admin@gustavgous.co.za
If you want interventions for your team: Contact +27 12 3455931 0r 0845138312 (Speak to Karen) or email gustav@gustavgous.co.za to discuss possibilities.
Disclaimer: Important notice to you as the reader: Although the life coach (dr Gustav Gous) provide certain recommendations, the sole and final responsibility for decision-making remains your own and that the life coach or anybody associated to him and his company Short Walk Seminars Pty Ltd cannot be held responsible for any of your choices and reactions. You, the reader, must take full responsibility for your life, reactions and choices.
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www.gustavgousonline.com
Dr Gustav Gous is an International Motivational Speaker and Executive Life Coach with experience on 5 continents. He
was the in-house counselor for the petro-chemical company Sasol for 9 years. He is known for his Transformational leadership programmes on Robben Island, titled the “Short Walk to Freedom”.
He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and past President of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa and a member of the APSS (Asia Professional Speakers Singapore). Currently he is heading up the Diversity Intelligence Institute, specializing in rolling out Diversity Intelligence interventions for
international companies. His leadership caps does for leadership what De Bono's thinking hats did for creativity and problem solving. His Coaching programme on national Radio in South Africa RSG FM 100-104 "Fiks vir die lewe" touches the lives of many South Africans. gustav@gustavgous.co.za drgous@iafrica.com www.gustavgous.co.za , www.diviin.com ,
Follow him on Twitter: @GustavGous or on Facebook and LinkedIn .
