In preparation for this article, I was chatting with my roommate about the question, “What do you want your legacy to be?” His immediate answer was, “I want to be a good father to my son.”

That got me to thinking about our personal definitions of the word, “legacy.” So, I looked up the definition. Webster’s defines it as, “bequest: (law) a gift of personal property by will.” I don’t think most people think of our legacy’s as a monetary value or a gift of personal property. My roommate, however, clearly wants to make sure his “gift” to the most important person in his life, his son, is that of having a father who is the best a child could ever hope for. It transcends any value of personal property.

Having looked at the actual definition, I’m sort of beginning to rethink my answer. To further clarify, I’m going to rephrase the question: “What gift(s) do you want to leave behind?”

To the workaholic, I’d ask, “what are you working for?”

The Truth on the Tea Leaf

Photo by Cherub on Flickr

My personal mantra developed after reading the tag on my tea bag one day. The little leaf said, “Inspiring others towards happiness brings you happiness.” It was the most elequant statement I had stumbled onto that conveyed what I had been trying to put into words for a long time.

What’s special about this statement is not only it’s simplicity but the fact that you can exchange the word “happiness” with almost anything in life. Money, success, love, kindness, financial stability, et cetera. All of these things – when we inspire others towards them – return the benefits ten fold.

This is the foundation for the idea of “karma.” Inspiring others towards that which they need and want does not mean we are keeping tabs and expecting some form of payment or return from that person for our efforts. It is knowing we will receive a karmic return on what we do. Those karmic returns can and do turn into financial gains but your intentions must be pure. Insincerity kills both karmic and real world returns.

This simple statement has become the foundation for all of my life’s work – including my business models. Right now I’m working on developing a community for this business, Love Your Work Life. Our mission is “to inspire and educate people to find or create work they love that affords them the lifestyle they desire.” I’ve also implemented this statement into how I structure my businesses. When the people I affiliate with and work with are successful, then I am successful.

It’s the same in the community service I do as President of my Rotary Club. I build projects around the desires of the volunteers in my community, then I delegate leadership roles to the most proactive of them all.

My job is to support, inspire, and drive (leads, encouragement, business, whatever) to the people that surround me. In return, I find that the support and encouragement I receive from the world comes back to me in a flood each and every day. The way my life’s work is structured around this simple statement, “Inspiring others towards happiness brings you happiness” – I find myself jumping out of bed every day eager to get to work.

The Hope for Betty Jean’s Legacy

Of all the things I think, say, and do, I hope to inspire others towards that which they most need and desire – ultimately, towards happiness. I am working every day to stay true to the truth on the tea leaf. It is infecting every aspect of my work from sales, to partnerships, to connecting. I sincerely believe that this simple truth holds the key to not only the success of the people around me but to my own personal goals and successes.

This simple statement embodies that we cannot “do it alone.” We must define for ourselves what it is that we want or need – what “makes us happy.” Once we clearly define that for ourselves, the answers and the action lie outside of ourselves. It is not what we can do for ourselves, but how can we enable others to receive that which we also want. Only then are we prepared to be open to receiving.

I want my gift to the world and my family to be my personal embodiment of this statement. I hope that all of my actions reflect this truth in the most honest, sincere, compassionate, and loving way possible. I hope that all my businesses and life’s work reflects this truth and that the returns I yield in my lifetime because of living this truth glow huge as a shining example.

We all know our actions speak louder than our words – especially when we are referring to such a simple statement as “Inspiring others towards happiness brings you happiness.” However, this statement is tremendous in it’s ramifications. I want to be the statement. I am the statement. And my hope is that my legacy is my life as this statement.

This post is part of a blog series on Brazen being sponsored by Entrustet. They asked Brazen members to answer the question: What do you want your legacy to be?