As you ponder the legacy you’d like to leave, you’ll find you have many choices to make:
How do you wish to be known and remembered? When people think of you, what do you want them to think? Are there key words, characteristics, or concepts that – ideally – would come to mind?
Whom do you want to influence? The whole world? A handful of family members and close friends? One or more different communities (whether defined by geography or by affinities and interests)?
Perhaps most important, what can you do to help ensure the legacy you envision will indeed be realized? Are there specifc steps to be taken? Things that definitely should not be done? What’s the right combination of “walk” and “talk,” “think,” or “feel”?
Yet another consideration is how far into the future you want to have an impact. If you’re focused on the long term, there’s really no substitute for something such as a perpetual endowed fund that both bears your name and, by virtue of the charitable activities supported through annual distributions from the fund, continues to reflect what you have determined to be most important in life. If you’re curious about setting up such a fund contact [name] at [phone] to learn more about the options available to you.
By contrast, you may decide it’s sufficient to instill in people particular values you hope that they, in turn, will pass along to others. One increasingly popular tool you might wish to employ is what’s known as an “ethical will,” i.e., either a written document or an audio, visual, or other electronic statement that has no legally binding effect but is instead intended to be morally persuasive for those who survive you.
Finally, don’t underestimate the influence inherent in the ways you provide for others, both tangibly and intangibly. For example, simply bestowing gifts, whether in terms of money or things or in terms of wisdom, caring, and good humor, enables you to demonstrate for others what you value most.