Marquis Who's Who Millennium Magazine

Despite one’s successes, being reminded of one’s mortality can be very humbling. It has been said that in ancient Rome, a victorious general would be accompanied by a slave during subsequent celebrationswhowouldwhisper inhis ear, “memento mori,” meaning, “remember you will die.” This idea has transcended centuries, serving to remind people that they are not only living their lives in the present, but that they must actively think about what will come afterward. To some, especially the ancient Romans, the religious implications of this idea likely centered around belief in an afterlife. In today’s more secular world, “memento mori” can be applied more effectively to focus on one’s legacy. To think that you will no longer be here one day begs the question, “What will I have left behind?” This kind of thinking might seem morbid, but, it provides a useful framework for your life. Just as a smaller project plan has to fit with your business objectives, so do your personal plans need to fit with the larger objectives for your life. If you're not working toward the big picture, then you're quite possibly undermining your life’s work. Is that what you want? The corollary of this is that your legacy happens here in the present. It's not just what you'll leave behind; it's what you do, the people with whom you interact, and the decisions you make here and now. You can't get to retirement (or to your deathbed) and start working on your legacy. You need to embody the qualities by which you hope to be remembered and help to grow them in other people every single day. Don't postpone working on your legacy. It's much more than succession planning and leaving your business or its assets to your heirs. Your legacy is what flows from the kind of person you are — not just what you do. Give some time to reflection and examine whether your life and your relationships really embody the qualities and characteristics you consider most important. That's how you'll leave behind a legacy that will last, and you can rest assured that the world will be left a little better because of you. 153