Are you leaving a legacy?

   The legacy that you leave is up to you. Your legacy is what you make of it. Most people want to leave their mark in this world but may be too busy to do so at this time, but maybe next year or the year after and so on. Today I'm going to toss out just a couple of simple ideas for you to be able to leave your legacy in some way shape or form.

   Blogging is a simple way to express yourself and doesn’t have to take up as much time as trying to write a book. You have the ability to read other blogs and leave comments for the author and others to read. Of course sitting down at your computer and pouring out your thoughts would be the best way to put yourself out there. Blogs allow you to give advice on things that you are knowledgeable about and will showcase your “smarts” to others who share your interests.

   Authoring a book is another great way to leave a legacy. This will take more time but it has been said that about 80% of Americans have a book in them. My Grandfather wrote a book of poems that he was so passionate about that he took out a 2^nd mortgage on the old farm house. The book may not have been seen as a success in some peoples eyes but I guess it depends how you measure success. The book of poems my Grandfather had written inspired me to seek my legacy. I want to help others find their purpose and help improve their lives. Don't you think that my Grandfather would be amazed with the impact his book had on me if he was still around? I am going to help change others lives by serving my God given purpose thanks in part to his book.

   YouTube, hey why not. If you want to truly express yourself in a video that’s a great place to post it. I am not a Justin Beiber fan but that’s where he got his start. The number one highest viewed video of all time contains Bieber and has over 500,000,000 hits within a year. Wow that is half of a billion views. You may not reach that many hits but look at the video where Charlie keeps biting his brothers finger, that is at around 300,000,000 views. If you have something that you really want the world to hear or see through video that is a great way to do so.

   Of course these are just a few of the many ideas that are out there including things like pod-casting, newsletters and so on. The most important thing to take from all of this is that you can leave your legacy in a way that technology makes easier year by year. So the point of all of this is to not leave this world with your music inside of you. Impact someones life for the better in some way and you will always be remembered.

Profit from Purpose, you deserve it!

Work is love made visible. Is work really that big of a deal?

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste,

it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple

and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread

that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of grapes,

your grudge distills a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing,

you muffles man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

All work is empty save when there is love;

and when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself,

and to one another and to God.

                                 -KAHILL GIBRAN, THE PROPHET

All too often we go through our lives doing work that pays the bills. The concept of doing work we love doesn’t seem to make sense because if that were true it wouldn’t be called work. Well what would we call work if we did something we enjoyed? During the late 1800's in Australia there was this new concept that called for a shorter work day. Men were getting tired of working 10-14 hours per day. It wasn’t about the pay they were receiving but rather their free time. So they came up with this concept:

• 8 Hours Work
• 8 Hours Recreation Time
• 8 Hours Rest

Now with that concept in mind, does it seem like they loved their work? If they truly loved their work they would not have pushed to work less but rather work more. The word “work” almost seems like a dirty word in that we do it out of necessity. Just imagine going up to someone like Jesus and telling him he can only work 8 hours per day. Yes I said Jesus, the Son of God who was sent to this world to forgive us of our sins. How much could Jesus have accomplished in an 8 hour day? How many fewer miracles would have been performed and what would God have thought about His Son serving his purpose for 1/3 of a given day? We are children of God, how does God feel about the work you are doing? Are you using the natural gifts and strengths he has given to you?

Would Jesus have been a different person while at work than He was in his free time? This brings me to wonder if you are a different person while you are at work rather than at home or around friends and family? How are you different? Are you nicer to people at work than you are to your spouse or children or is it the opposite? What steps are you willing to take to fulfill your God given purpose?

Profit from Purpose, You deserve it!

Source of Kahill Gibran quote: Dan Miller author of 48 DAYS TO THE WORK YOU LOVE