Last Sunday I reread Chapter 11 of Chris Guillebeau’s book The Art of Non-Conformity; it’s a chapter on what Chris calls a legacy project. (He has a post on this topic here as well.)
A legacy project is a project in which you create a work or do a deed. A legacy project will provide tremendous value to people and it will have a lasting impact. By undertaking a legacy project, you create a meaning for your life.
The notion of legacy project made me think. What is my legacy project? How do I want my life to make a lasting impact on others?
I want to make the world more romantic and I’m pretty serious about it, though if you ask me in person, I’m very likely to say that with a Cheshire Cat smile rather than a serious face. It’s a big, umbrella project, and smaller projects that I want to pursue can go under this project.
For example, I want to make sure that you will stay out of the “I’m not good enough” syndrome as well as the “I just want to be good enough” syndrome. I believe everyone of you has great potential. Being not good enough now doesn’t mean you will never be good. I also believe that you can go much further than you imagined you could. You can be great. Not just “good enough”. If these words get you out of these syndromes, that’s great! In any case, this is one project I want to work on.
Another example would be to help you get the most out of your potential and rock the world. If you don’t believe in your potential, you better know that you should believe in yourself no matter what. You are the most important supporter of yourself and you need to encourage yourself in order to do great things.
I take this blog as a seed for this big project and other smaller projects. At the time of writing this post, 29 people subscribe to this blog and I’m looking forward to growing it much, much bigger. (Thank you very much to you subscribers. You guys rock! If you are subscribing via RSS, but not via e-mail newsletters yet, I recommend you to use the e-mail one – you can sign up from the form on the side bar. Claim your brainstorming session.)
By the way, what this notion of legacy project doesn’t make me think is whether I’m capable of doing it or not. I know what I want to do, I choose to do it, and I do it. It’s simple like that.
So, let’s make the world more romantic.
By the way, if you want that to happen, don’t just wait – start living your life as your art and create romantic experiences. That’s how we make it happen.
Chris suggests that we start working on a legacy project right now rather than when we come closer to the end of life. I agree with Chris that it’s better to start working on a legacy project as soon as possible, because if you start earlier, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on creating a great legacy.
What’s your legacy project? How do you want your life to influence others?
The first step is to figure out what kind of legacy you want to leave for the world. Once you’ve identified it, then clarify it as much as you can. Keep refining your project. It’s easy to say this in a few sentences, but it will probably take you for a while to identify and to clarify your project. That’s totally fine. The point, I believe, is to be aware of your legacy project and to keep working on it consistently. I’m working on mine too.
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Photo: pimpexposure