When I hear the word legacy these days, I can’t help but think about a conversation I had with Sir Richard Branson last year about his 10 Generation Plan (building something that can positively impact at least 10 generations).
How’s that for a powerful legacy?
Ever since that conversation, my perspective dramatically shifted especially when it came to thinking about the purpose of my business, and the impact I want my team and I to make in this world by helping other businesses aspire to achieve their unique legacies.
You could say my purpose became pretty darn clear...
To help grow and scale mission driven companies into iconic legacies for generations to come.
Infinite businesses.
Success for me would be to leave that footprint long after I was gone and have it live on for generations to come.
You see, no matter how successful we are… in life OR in business, a powerful reminder we all should embrace is that we are all mortal, and our time here will eventually come to an end.
Recently, this reminder hit close to home when a good friend of mine died unexpectedly.
What was even harder to accept was that I was with him just days before he passed...
It was a Sunday when we arrived in Vegas to get ready for a trade show for a business we were partners in.
Monday was day one of the event and he started feeling ill and decided not to attend.
Friday he felt he felt worse, and by Saturday morning he couldn’t even walk. His wife called an ambulance and he was immediately hospitalized.
Less than one week later Brian was gone. Just like that.
We were all shocked and in complete disbelief. For days, even talking about it amongst the team felt surreal, like we were on the outside looking into someone else’s life.
After the initial shock of losing him started to wane a bit, a painful realization set in about how much the business would suffer from losing him (he was instrumental in our growth and solely responsible for key areas in the business).
We had no plan for his departure.
That never even crossed our minds. But here we were.
We were forced to make some immediate decisions that would ripple down through the entire company. Affecting the present day and the future.
Here’s what we did realize though…
This was our opportunity to really take a step back and start asking ourselves the most important questions that most business owners don’t think to ask themselves (until the unexpected happens).
Questions like:
- What really matters?
- What legacy do we want to leave?
- How do we make our legacy a reality?
- How do we make a legacy for our team?
- How do we help others successfully build and achieve their legacy?
God forbid something happens to myself or another member of our team, how can we structure the business to survive and continue on for generations to come?
Yes, hard questions.
But questions worth asking...as by having this discussion and figuring out the answers led us to clarity and ultimate focus on our purpose.
And ours is building an Infinite Business and helping others do the same.
Creating and scaling a business that matters.
Building a company for people who care about more than themselves.
Elevating to a business and mission that leaves an awe-inspiring legacy for the world.
Think about you and your business now...
What is your purpose?
What is important to you?
Have you thought about what would happen to your business (your team, your family) if God forbid something happened to you?
What help do you need to ensure your legacy will survive and last for generations to come long after you’re gone?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on this topic…comment below.
As always, feel free to reach out to me anytime if you want to schedule a discovery call with my team to see how we can help you break through the invisible glass ceiling in your business.
To your success,
David