"No sooner does a great man depart, and leave his character as public property, than a crowd of little men rushes towards it. There they are gathered together, blinking up to it with such vision as they have, scanning it from afar, hovering round it this way and that, each cunningly endeavoring, by all arts, to catch some reflex of it in the little mirror of himself."
Thomas Carlyle
When you look at your face in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see the face or a man or woman who has a purpose or a meaning? Are you resolute in your preparation for the tasks at hand; or are you stuck in a quagmire of despair and hopelessness?
To establish a "legacy," which is "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past" as in the legacy of the ancient philosophers, one must have accomplished something significant while in the earth.
The legacy builder must "engage and empower" himself/herself on a daily basis as they refine the vision God has given them for their lives. You must constantly ask yourself the hard questions; "Who am I?", and "What am I doing?" Can you "see" (with spiritual eyes) where you are going? Does a "bumpy road" deter you from your ultimate destination?
You must saddle your vision with "hard facts" and identify what you are passionate about; that which catapults you out of the bed EARLY in the morning without an alarm clock; that "thing" you would do everyday for the rest of your life for "free." The legacy builder MUST embrace hardship with dignity and honor. He/she also will have the spiritual discernment to make "holy choices" (choices that would please God and bring glory to His name).
The legacy builder must acquire the skill for building "sustainable relationships". You must view your legacy as a "transferable asset" that increases in inherent value from generation to generation. The person inheriting (or walking in) your legacy must attribute equal or greater value to receiving the gift of your legacy.
A "vision" will leave scars. Your heart will be broken so many times it will beat with a limp! You will be vilified, persecuted, scorned, scoffed at, berated, ostracized and defamed! You will feel lonely and relish being alone. You will learn to treasure your time with God in your "secret place" and bask in the glory of His fellowship and unconditional love.
In short, you have to learn to ask the right questions and then be able to recognize the truth in order to build a spiritual legacy.
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