The Legacy Drawing Board: Recent Episodes
Ronald L. Fong
This podcast is a journey that explores how design is essential to legacy building. The principles of good design will shape and direct your legacy into a work that will touch your family, friends, and business associates with your unique enduring message.
We all leave legacies. Are you designing the one that you want to leave?
email: rfong@truenorthshepherding.com
Jaclyn Orent, co-founder and CEO of Cultural Catalysts Network, provides practical insights to the seasoned corporate leader to the recent high school graduate on how to improve the world by mastering self. Listen to see how sharing your vision, compassion, and energy will widen your scope and deepen the impact you have in improving the world.
Shepherd leadership is a better model than servant leadership. The servant model detracts from leadership by its redundancy, passivity, and limited scope. If you are not willing to serve, you are unfit to lead. Shepherds are proactive protectors who do not wait for instructions to lead their flock to safety and pastures where they can prosper.
The Japanese art/architecture form of kigumi builds houses without nails. Nail-less structures have the space and flexibility to absorb the shock of earthquakes, are less likely to have wood splitting from changes in humidity, and accommodate seamless assembly and replacement.
Have you built your relationships to withstand stressful forces? Do you lead by joining people together as opposed to fastening together with metaphoric nails? Listen to build a stronger legacy without nails.
Approximately 12.5 million Americans are solo agers. Some never planned to spend their latter years alone. Changing trends in active disengagement reduce the reach of our social networks and strain community cohesion. Many will be left wondering what their legacy will be. Listen to transition from life planning to legacy building.
We are flawed beings who stumble on our journeys. Often, we looked for a way to correct our course. We can supply each other with that by designing offramps of grace and mercy. Listen to be a beacon of humanity to those who are at points of great need.
Danielle Philips created the They Were Here Foundation to build a legacy for her daughter Angelina, who died from cancer. The foundation provides a space for grieving individuals to keep the voices of departed loved ones alive through storytelling. Listen to hear how others are choosing to honor lost family and friends by bringing memories to life.
A composite baseball bat is a technological wonder that compensates for a hitter's limited skill by producing towering homeruns that surprise even the hitter. A wooden bat is less forgiving when the hitter fails to execute. Contact at the wrong place can lead to a spray of wood in the field with the batter walking back to the dugout with only the handle in hand. The wood bat has heft that provide honest feedback of your efforts. Choose the wood bat in the game of life and you will be rewarded with a crack that will bring everyone to the feet.
Explore your legacy as cinema. Produce your life story as a filmmaker. Develop a script from a vision, "cast" the people in your life by building meaningful relationships, and collaborate with other artists to enrich and to clarify your story. Make your legacy the best picture possible.
Stained glass was referred to as the "Bible of the poor." We can use the process of creating stain glass as a model for designing and building our legacies. Is your legacy accessible and understandable to the masses? Does it reflect, reflect, and diffract sunlight into a dance that fills dark rooms with hope and joy? Listen to infuse your legacy with the beauty of the rainbow's richness.
Garbage in, garbage out. This is the essence of system designs. Pivot to beauty in, beauty out for your legacy design. Listen to blend and balance design concepts from art and engineering to build your intended legacy and a reserve for recentering it when things go awry.
Who are your role models for mentorship as you begin to mentor? The Bible provides us with five examples of men who fulfilled the fundamental responsibility of mentorship: protecting the mentee. Initially, this will be from external threats. As the relationship matures, the mentor will need to protect the mentee from internal threats. Mentors take on this duty because they serve a higher purpose and see the mentee being part of that purpose. Truth is the currency of mentor/mentee dynamic. Listen to sharpen your focus and execution as a mentor.
It's important to pause from legacy building to legacy evaluation. Set aside time to reflect and to ask others about your legacy. How fit is it in terms of delivering your message and touching the lives of others? Examine it for its strength, flexibility, mobility, and balance.
Writer Farley Ledgerwood identified the four kinds of people you need in your life:
👤 The person who won't let you quit.
👤 The person who won't let you pretend.
👤 The person who makes you feel less alone just by existing.
👤 The person who knew you before the armor.
Listen to examine your relationships and what direction you want them to go.
Do you show before you tell? Have you established your identity before assuming responsibilities? Listen to appreciate the importance of placing indicatives before imperatives in your legacy design and building. Doing so will position your legacy to empower than to burden.
Persistent or stubborn? Collaborative or indecisive? Honest or indiscreet? How you channel your core energy will either build or destroy. Listen to design a path for your essence to engage others in sharing a clear and consistent message.
How do you view your children's spouses? Do you consider them in-laws or on as your own children? Listen to prepare for this family addition with open arms, open hearts, and an enduring loving message of acceptance.
Will people know your faith by your works? And, are works grounded in loving others? Listen to begin examining how you are living your faith and how your works shape your legacy.
Money has three fundamental functions: it is a medium of exchange, a unit of account/measure of value, and a store of value. Have you examined the function of your legacy? Does it promote dialogue, be held up as a standard for living, or continue to influence people after you are gone? Listen to build a better legacy by combining form with function.
Your legacy is your kingdom. How do you treat your subjects: your hopes, dreams, fears, and your message? Listen to understand whether your rule or govern and what will be the lasting impact of your reign.
Running barefoot improves form because we receive unmediated input from the ground. As we build our legacies, are we taking the time to go barefoot to ensure our perceptions are aligning with the truth? Listen to let your legacy run a better course by shedding comfort for the fullness of life.
Your legacy. Your story. Yet, who are the individuals who are part of the story, who have contributed to expanding your vision, and shared in the labor of telling it? We have examples of the value of partnerships in business, the arts, and in sports. Have you identified and thanked those who opened doors to collaboration and synergism? When you do, you enrich your legacy.
I interview Amanda Moss, founder of AMG Creative, a marketing and design studio for small businesses. She shares how she developed AMG from her work with museums and as a photographer. Amanda has a passion to connect with people who have a mission, but are unsure how to clarify and amplify their message. She has a particular interest in helping non-profit organizations.
My guest, Victor Varnado, discusses how AI lower barriers for people to produce artistic content. He is a New Yorker cartoonist, filmmaker, and comedian. He has developed AI platforms for education and his mission is to make creativity accessible for all.
Parenthood matures you through joyous challenges. Among the challenges is the art of giving of self without being intrusive. Your child will always need you as a parent, but the seasons of life shape and direct those needs. Listen to build a relationship with your child that will last beyond your lifetime.
The options for college have increased with more online offerings. With increasing costs and a tough job market, what is the value of a college education? How does the growth of AI impact higher education and skill acquisition? Listen to this episode to start the exercise of designing a college. This exercise will help you focus your messaging and evaluate how you impact other people.
I interview Jermaine Ee, founder of HeirLight, an app for writing your will. Jermaine developed this platform to help people achieve clarity in their decisions regarding loved ones. He defines clarity as love in action. We discuss how different generations view death and their comfort level in discussing the future.
Once your bring people or elements together, what happens? Do you elevate those involved to bring about a mutually beneficial experience? Have you increased the lead when you pass the baton? Your legacy has the power to unite people and inspire them to go in directions previously unimagined. Listen to make amalgamation and synergism foundations of your legacy design and building.
Your character is the story you tell to an audience of one: you. Your reputation is how others choose to edit your story. Take the time to craft your story with a strong singular voice that can withstand the harshness of envy and pettiness. Listen to understand how the dynamic between character and reputation is central to your legacy design and building.
When you are faced with imperfection in life, do you hide it? Or, do you work with the imperfection and see it as an opportunity to expand possibilities? Kintsugi is the Japanese art form that repairs cracks in pottery with lacquer mixed with precious metals. Imagine applying this art form to your legacy to create something beautiful from something flawed.
Are you seeking happiness, joy, or contentment? This episode defines the differences among the three and makes the case of why joy and contentment are vital to building a lasting legacy.
A portfolio is a collection of documents. It can pertain to your financial investments or your artistic works. The function of a portfolio is to provide clarity regarding the direction and pace of your journey towards a goal. Have you reviewed the contents of your legacy's portfolio to evaluate if your efforts are moving you towards a clear, concise, and consistent message that is the core of your legacy?
Maps provides us with location and orientation. They help us explore and understand around us. They provide a path to progress. Maps deliver a clear message as to what we need to get from here to there. Does your legacy have the clarity of a map? Are others able to journey through your world with the signs, landmarks, and guideposts you have left with your thoughts, words, and deeds?
Rhea Wessel, founder of The Institute for Thought Leadership, provides three steps to find the heart of your story for thought leadership. 1. Listen for the signal. 2. Find the core shift. 3. Frame the tension. These steps can be extended to telling the story of your legacy. I discuss how these three steps provide clarity, incorporate good design principles, and align leadership with storytelling.
AI users are reshaping the entertainment industry. More AI-generated content is associated with less work for humans. The entertainment industry is driven by storytelling. I asked AI to provide me with an outline for an episode of this podcast. I share the AI-generated content and comment on the potential benefits and pitfalls of AI in storytelling and legacy building.
Endeavors are framed by time, cost, and scope. Then, you have to align scope with scale and magnitude. As you design and build your legacy, begin with what you can and cannot do and what you should do. Do not view containment as limiting, but as a means to distill and to streamline. Doing so will ensure a clearer message with greater resonance.
No clarity, no leadership. No leadership, no legacy. As we strive to increase clarity in our messaging, we need to ensure we have the proper tools for this endeavor. Began with self-examination with others to align what you think you are saying and what is being said and heard. Next, assess your current relationships without assumptions. Finally, use clarity to bridge what you envision in your mind to reaching that reality.
Anger can quickly escalate from mild irritation to rage. A lifetime of good can be marred by a moment of mindless savagery. What are the safeguards you have designed to ensure your anger does not have the last word in your legacy?
Parents, as you prepare for your last child to leave home and become an empty nester, take a page from the workplace to ease this painful stage. You are transitioning from CEO to consultant. Be proactive and design a succession process that will lead you from final decision-maker to trusted advisor. Instead of carrying them along, be the guide who will show them new worlds and help them scale new heights.
Imagination is a tool for innovation. It is a telescope that lets us see new worlds. It is a compass that plots the course for adventure. It is the ship that sails the Seven Seas of our minds. Our childhood toys came alive through our imagination. Revisit and reconnect with your childhood imagination to tell a rich story and build stronger relationships.
There is a difference between loneliness and being alone. Prioritizing time for self is necessary to reflect on patterns of growth and to declutter distractions that take away from the clarity and impact of our messages. We cannot have anything to give to others when we have not started by giving ourselves time and space to grow. Solitude is the enriched soil for the fruits of spiritual and mental renewal.
Beauty catches the eye and stirs the heart. True beauty edifies us because it starts with the truth, progresses to goodness, and completes the journey to beauty. When we are struck by beauty, we should pause and look for the truth and goodness that reside within. I encourage you to build your legacy with a foundation of truth and raise goodness up to finish with a work of beautify art.
I interview Miya Simpson, proprietor of Taste and See Vegan Desserts. Hear her story as a single mom who homeschooled her child, a new empty nester, a missionary, and an artist who expresses herself through baking.
No matter how talented you are, you can always benefit from the help of others. Manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin were instrumental in the success of The Beatles. They provided mentorship to four young lads from Liverpool and helped elevate them into the world's most popular band. They helped them tell the stories they wanted to tell through their songs. Do you have a Brian Epstein or George Martin helping you tell your story? Or, are you helping others tell their stories?
Are you seeking work-life balance or life-work harmony? Are you spending time or investing it? Listen to reimagine how you live out your day when you follow the principles of good design to bring harmony to your efforts of telling a story that flows.
Remixing engineers are artists who seek to distill the essence of the musicians and singers from a previously mixed song. The intent is to bring a fresh clean interpretation to a familiar work. We can learn from these artists regarding centering the conversation, balancing voices, and giving room for nuances to be appreciated. Listen to mix/remix your leadership skills for greater clarity.
Storytelling is an art, akin to architecture. I cite the challenges DC Studios will have in their attempt to duplicate Marvel's movie success because of the design differences between the DC and Marvel comic universes. Bringing elements together is the beginning, but you must be able to structure relationships and use space appropriately to tell a story.
"Dance, then, is the most personal of all the arts...it springs from the very breath of life." What is the dance of your legacy? Listen to gain insights from the five elements of dance and how they can be applied in choregraphing the story you want to tell and the legacy you want to leave.
Have you designed how you will move forward when you fail? We will all experience failing, but that does not equate to failure. Listen to gain encouragement when faced with trials and tribulations and learn to see failings as an opportunity for growth.
The lighting designer is responsible for coordinating light sources to help the director and actors tell the intended story on the stage. Lighting propels performance from an idea into an inspired function. As you get ready to take the stage to tell your story, have you positioned your light in such a fashion to tell a story that the audience can clearly see? Listen to conduct a self-examination of how you are presenting your story and your light.
Your message is your legacy. If you are an immigrant, how do you design and build your legacy from two worlds, two languages? Or do you have two legacies? Listen as I share my experience as an immigrant and how this experience has shaped my legacy.
Are your thoughts, words, and deeds aligned to form positive bonds with others? Is your word your bond? Are you weaving honesty in the tapestry of your legacy? Honesty is a virtue, but it is also a decision by design. Listen to self-examine the priority of honesty and keeping promises in your legacy design and building.
I revisit S1E32 when I talked about adult children leaving home as in inflection point in the legacies of the children and the parents. This time, I bring my perspective as a grandparent on this powerful moment and how to prepare for it from both sides.
There is a growing trend among Baby Boomers to leave no financial inheritance to their children. The concept of "dying with zero" is increasing, partly due to the rising cost of living and to Bill Perkins' book that promotes the concept that spending your money now will yield greater happiness. How you spend your money tells a story. Have you given thought to how to tell a more meaningful story with frontloading with your use of money?
Jeremy Horne is the CEO of Storypedia and has a passion for encouraging people to interview their family members, especially the ones from earlier generations. In this episode, we discuss the value and importance of storytelling and building connections with our loved ones and with people we have just met.
Angles play an important part in the game of baseball. How you round the bases and position yourself to throw depends on the angle of your feet, shoulders, and head. Life is a series of decisions. To make better decisions, it is vital that you understand the angles of the situation before you and that you have prepared for this opportunity.
All lives come with burdens. How we respond to them determines our legacy. Moreover, how we respect how others respond to their burdens also contributes to our legacies.
Frame your story as a trilogy and began to see the power of your story. Start by increasing your awareness of the people in your life and giving more thought to your purpose. Journey forward with exploration of the unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Conclude by committing to overcoming trials and tribulations. All the elements are before you every day of your life. Begin your adventure and finish with a stronger story.
We envision ourselves as parents and grandparents. However, do we anticipate when we are to step into the roles of patriarch and matriarch? There is a difference between leading your immediate family and leading the family. This episode discusses the importance of preparing for this possibility due to its significant impact on your legacy.
Our lives are saturated with measurements. Grades, standardized tests, work performance, credit ratings, net worth, and so on. When it comes to our legacy, how should we be measuring it? The key is to not compare yourself to others, but to seek alignment with your true north and to speak in the most authentic way possible.
Walt Disney was a masterful storyteller who elevated the medium of animation. He brought innovations to animation and created the theme park. All of his efforts focused on assembling talented people to produce films for children and the child inside of us.
We are all artists. Some of us just need to find the courage to say it and the persistence to maintain our identity when it seems no one agrees. Once you embrace your artistic nature, you can begin to design and create your legacy in a fashion that will touch minds and hearts for generations.
What is the effort, attention, and work you are putting into building your legacy? Artists pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their body of work. Your legacy demands the same focus and energy for you are an artist with a story to tell.
Are you trying to control the narrative of your story? Or, are you seeking freedom to explore where your story goes? Excessive control limits and harms relationships. Freedom represents mutual respect when building a relationship. Remove the burden of attempting to control your legacy and embrace the gift of freedom to design it.
We want to tell our story. However, when our health is compromised, we lose direction of the narrative and transition from writer to bystander. The relationships we build and the consistency of our voice will enable others to speak for us when we can no longer speak for ourselves. One of the vital functions your legacy carries out is to be your surrogate decision-maker when you are incapacitated.
Stan Lee changed storytelling in comic books. He elevated the medium from funny pages to graphic novels. He shine a spotlight on the writers, artists, letters, and colorists by starting the credit box. His legacy improved storytelling and inspired generations to be storytellers.
Family stories connect past generations with future ones. Family stories increases our vision and understanding of those close to us. Ask to hear stories from family members and you will increase your sense of self. Tell your story to family and you will expand their world.
Mentorship occupies an unique place in relationship dynamics. It's singular attribute that distinguishes it from counseling, coaching, advocacy, or sponsorship is the primary focus on protection. A mentor's main goal is to protect the mentee. Once that goal is achieved, then the mentor can proceed with other pursuits. However, with the foundation of protection and trust, this specific relationship cannot advance. You can't teach batting to a player if he is afraid of being hit by the pitch.
Fables, legends, and epics have inspired us throughout the ages. We have handed down these stories to the next generation. Listen to start thinking of your legacy in grander scale. This perspective will strengthen the impact of your story in order that future generations will be able to appreciate its full value.
What you fight for and when you fight contributes to your legacy. How you engage in conflict is a reflection of your leadership, how you value relationships, and the story you want to tell.
Money talks. When people see your stewardship of your earnings, what is the message being delivered? How we view and spend our money is a large part of legacy. Are you working to leave your children an inheritance or a legacy?
The delicate balance between power and authority must be maintained to build a legacy of trust and positive impact. Authority without power are words spoken in an empty forest. Power without authority is a deafening roar that severs bonds. How you wield your power will determine the direction and depth of your legacy.
You continue to deliver a message after you're gone through your legacy. New Year's resolutions and bucket lists are too confined in their scope and function to fuel your legacy. Write a premortem and your story unfolds before your eyes. It's not a fairytale, but a commitment to your future self that you will leave the legacy that you wanted to.
A logo serves to create memorable impressions and to communicate ownership of a brand. What would your legacy's logo look like? Listen to go through the exercise of designing a logo to focus and to enhance your legacy building efforts.
You are the author of your story. But, are you also the narrator? Narration provides nuance and reflection to the story's events. Take the time to enrich your story with narration.
No new James Bond film will occur until the Broccoli family and Amazon come to an agreement. Part of the challenge is that Amazon failed to understand the importance of the Bond franchise to the Broccoli family legacy. Listen to appreciate the essence of legacy, why it matters, and why you need to protect it from those who would detract from it.
The art of bricolage involves using what is at hand to bring seemingly unrelated pieces into some resemblance of order. It is similar to improvisation in jazz. Are you a bricolage artist, a rare individual who can appreciate the talents of others and trust them to express it on their terms? This skill forges lasting legacies.
Legacy institutions, such as media and academia, are changing. In some aspects, they are losing their influence. How much of your legacy is vested into legacy institutions? Should they fall, will your legacy lose its impact? Your legacy should be built on the distillation of the virtues and values you hold dear. Design you legacy to withstand the external whims of time.
It's another edition of Hi Oh! Hijinks, the lighthearted feature of The Legacy Drawing Board. For those of you who have never attended an office Christmas party or it has been more than three years since your last one, Darrell Jenkins and I walk you though this process to avoid landmines and increase your enjoyment.
How we teach shapes our legacy. What is your intent when you teach? Do you want your student to master a subject or to pass an exam? Or, do you want your student to surpass your standing in order to advance the discipline? Listen to challenge the way you view the teacher-student dynamic and how you want your teaching methods to contribute to your legacy.
A contranym is a word with two opposite meanings. Is your legacy suffering this fate? As you design and build your legacy, take time to ask those who are influenced by your legacy what is their perception of your message. This investment of time will pay dividends in ensuring that you are delivering the legacy you want.
This is the first episode of Hi oh! Hijinks, the podcast within a podcast. I discuss the transition of working from home back to the office with my co-host Darrell Jenkins. We look for the laughter during this workplace shift for many, especially those who are early in their careers. Join us for the podcast equivalent of shooting the breeze with work colleagues at the water cooler.
A marathon is more than 26.2 miles. It is a gathering of thousands stories that will add another chapter at the finish line. I share three stories involving marathons as inspiration to design and to build your legacy.
How do you envision your legacy progressing with passing years? Are you seeking to retain your youth or to expand your experiences? Have you designed growth and maturation into your legacy design? Listen to appreciate that 60 is not the new 40, but the cherished stage that required six decades to build.
A second act is not a second chance. In plays, the second act connects the first to the third and final one. It serves to lay out the conflict or challenge the protagonist faces. We may think of a second career or retirement as a second act, but those are chapters of a singular story. However, when designing our legacy, we need to envision the story we want to tell and how to get to tell that story.
Have you designed inspiration into your legacy? Do you want to inspire others your legacy touches them? Will others build more meaningful legacies when they see your on display? Listen to inspire by storytelling.
Your legacy is a collection of your works as an artist. As you have designed your legacy, you need to also design the museum to house and to display your work. What is the structure that will invite people to tour and to ponder?
"All the world's a stage." If your legacy a comedy or a drama? Have you matured in your acting skills? Listen to see your legacy through the lens of stage production and to aspire to hone and mature your skills in conveying your story.
Autumn marks the end of the carefree endless days of summer. The air grows colder and the nights longer as responsibilities quicken. Autumn is a time to take stock of your legacy's harvest.
How have you prepared for the time when you are called to mentor those who are to take your place? Are you willing to mark success based on the growth and development of others? Listen to appreciate the legacy building lessons from the responsibilities of being the backup catcher.
As you design and build your legacy, have you given thought to who will be entrusted with it when you are gone? Organizations and families take steps to ensure that assets and values are passed down to the next generation. Listen to incorporate this important step in the care of your legacy.
A journal is a studio of solitude where your thoughts have the space to roam and to explore. Begin a journal and you will be able to see where you have traveled. Reflect on your entries and you will blaze a trail to where you want to go. A journal is map for the mind and a compass for the soul.
Aphorisms are the end result of the hard work of distilling truths and principles into a message that is concise and clear. Your legacy building follows a similar process. Listen to learn how developing your own aphorisms will enhance your legacy.
Jubilee marks the time to hallow a year to return to one's land and family. This period of rest and restoration is needed to reflect on the direction and steps of our lives. Listen to learn how to incorporate jubilee into your legacy.
We will cry tears of joy and sorrow. Tears will mark our celebrations and times of mourning. How you respond to your own tears and the tears of others will be clear messages of your legacy.
Burnout is the washing out of the bridge between empathy and compassion. We can be moved to tears while not moving to help someone stop crying. A legacy of empathy is nothing compared to a legacy of compassion. Listen to build and maintain a bridge that tells a story of edification and connection.
Companies spend a great deal of time and money on building their brand, then protecting it. They do so because it establishes their identify and personality, which helps distinguish them in markets. Branding speaks to customers to foster trust and value. You should take a similar approach in building your legacy. Listen to strengthen the brand of your legacy.
How will you respond when matters go awry and you are left to answer for them? How we prioritize our accountability defines our character and how others define our reputation. Keep your story and legacy honest by being accountable.
We strive for success, but do we plan on how to wield the power that comes with it? If we do not prepare ourselves for success, its arrival will overwhelm us and leave our legacies tattered. Listen to design a path from success to your intended legacy.
Building your legacy is important. Just as important is why you want to share your legacy. Your legacy becomes long-lasting when its purpose is to elevate and to edify others. Listen to ensure that your message spans the generations.
I interview musicians Jonathan Fong and Isaiah Sidouang to discuss their perspectives on the creative process of jazz. Moreover, I ask these two entrepreneurs how playing jazz has influenced their business pursuits.
Your children are your children, not your legacy. Design your parenting to inspire them to tell their own stories while providing support for each stage of their development.
Congratulations to the Class of 2024 and your parents. Now is the time to write your story and design your legacy. This applies to the graduates and their parents. Listen for encouragement as both of your begin new chapters of your stories.
The playground or sandlot is the laboratory, workshop, and studio for children in developing their innovation, leadership, and decision-making skills. When they lose access and adults structure their playtime, this interference impacts their maturation as adults. This deters them from writing their own stories and confides them to penning the sequel to their parents' stories. No story, no legacy.
We associate boredom and waste with meetings. The key to better meetings is better design through storytelling. One of the most important meetings for legacy building is with your past and future selves. Listen to arrange this meeting to align vision with execution and to ensure you are on the path to building the legacy you want.
There is a distinct and powerful difference between designing and planning. This applies to meetings, weddings, your future, and your legacy. Listen to find out how to shift your perspective from planning to designing. This shift will enrich your outlook and yield fruit of your choosing.
Leadership lesson are not limited to the workplace or classroom. Daily life provides us with ample opportunities to grow our leadership skills. The original Toy Story had many moments of leadership lessons. I discuss how you can discuss these with your children to help them with their leadership growth.
Bar mitzvah. Quincenera. Graduations. Weddings. How we celebrate the milestones of life is a reflection of our legacies. When we celebrate with others, we strengthen the bonds of community. Post-pandemic life calls us to renew our sense of communal purpose by reaching out and sharing our voices with encouragement and compassion.
Steve Jobs was an innovator, an entrepreneur, and a visionary. He ran Apple, NeXT and Pixar. His legacy is defined by his storytelling abilities and how he placed technology in the hands of people in order that they can tell their stories.
Courage is not a singular act, but a process of overcoming fear. It is the sacrifice of personal comfort to address the needs of others. It is road not often traveled, but the one guided by your True North. Is courage building a foundation of your legacy?
In this episode, I interview Dr. Julie Allen to hear her transition from employee to entrepreneur. She has built a direct primary care service that specializes in house calls. This endeavor is rooted in her desire to express her voice as a musician and an actress. Her website is Personalizedurgentcare.com.
Morris Change founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at the age of 55. TSMC's market cap value is $620 billion. It is never too late to heed your entrepreneurial voice. In fact, later may be better because of the accumulation of experience and growth of wisdom.
Life may be a journey, but your legacy needs to be a quest. Design is the process of delivering a clear, concise, and consistent message through artistry. The hero's narrative is that of a quest, not a journey. The purpose of telling your story in your voice is to ensure your message will impact generations.
Your legacy is like your name; it's yours, but it's meant for others to use. Your legacy begins with design, progresses with building, and is completed when you share it. Your legacy needs a proper distribution channel to maximize its impact. Listen and learn how to build your channel.
Imposter syndrome impacts our lives at home and at work. Suddenly, our joy sinks into doubts and fear of being exposed. We can address imposter syndrome by designing for it. The good design principles of innovation and honesty will restore your focus on growth and legacy building.
A story consists of a beginning, a middle, and an ending. A lack of ending indicates lack of design and forethought. Say what you have to say and trust that less is more. Bring your story to end in order that the listener can take it with them as source of inspiration and encouragement.
How do you define success? What will you do and what won't you do to obtain it? I comment on the Wall Street Journal essay "You Don't Have to Be a Jerk to Succeed" in terms of how pursuit of success defines your legacy.
Think of your legacy as a film. It needs music for accompaniment. The soundtrack should compliment, not compete with, the visual message. Have you designed your thoughts, words, and deeds to deliver a clear, concise, and consistent message? Listen to this episode to enhance your legacy with creativity and nuance.
I interview my son Jonathan for his perspectives as a composer in scoring a film, how artists stay true to their visions when collaborating, and how today's economic forces shape and drive content.
In this episode, I interview coffee roaster co-founder and entrepreneur Isaiah Sidouang. Isaiah shares his insights regarding growth through challenging self and the importance of persistence in the pursuit of building a legacy.
1 Corinthians 13:13: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Is love at the foundation of your legacy building? Do you seek to love those you encounter at home or at work? You cannot build a meaningful legacy without love.
Influential industrial designer Dieter Rams designated innovation as the first principle of good design. Creativity demands attention to detail and dedication. You cannot design your legacy if you are not willing to put in the sweat equity to harness your creative flow. Listen to increase your creative output.
Loss is a part of life. We cannot escape it. All the more reason to prepare for it by building strong relationships and continuing to tell your story. In this episode, I discuss the importance of mourning for a loss and how to serve others by sharing your loss.
Retirement is now a transition instead of a termination. Throughout the decades, we transition and grow. We will arrive at a point when we will move on from a way of life. A smooth transition to "retirement" requires design and purpose.
Olga Korbut was the sensation of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Through her innovation on the uneven bars, she elevated women's gymnastics to new heights in popularity and inspired millions to become gymnasts. Without her groundbreaking work, there are no X-Games and other forms of artistic athletic expression that we see today.
Small business owners provides us with daily and personal lessons on legacy building and leadership. These individuals have a purpose to provider better solutions and services and commit to this purpose by meeting all the responsibilities of running a business and by treating customers as friends and family.
In this episode, I interview author Catherine Wergin Schweikert and discuss the her book The Compassion Remedy and how to leverage the psychophysiological benefits of compassion to beat burnout, renew relationships, and enjoy greater well-being.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a beloved holiday tradition. Yet, this long-running special nearly did not make it past its first showing. Listen to this episode and learn how creator Charles Schulz, producer Lee Mendelson, and director Bill Melendez stood by their convictions to bring this treasure this life. Their actions against disbelieving and argumentative sponsors and network executives provide us with valuable insight into leadership skills.
In this episode, I reflect on my friend Gene and his legacy. He was a small business owner, employer, husband, father, and a community builder. He did much of this from his comic book store. A former employer remembered Gene because "So many of us took shelter under his canopy."
The value of teaching children is outcome-based, but resides in the effort. Whether a seed sprouts or not should never deter us from planting seeds. In this episode, I discuss how the seeds I planted as a Little League coach bloomed many years later.
Your life and legacy are multi-dimensional and multi-faceted. Designing your intended legacy requires awareness of your pursuits and harmony among your responsibilities and functions. Listen to see that your life is more than a journey of 26.2 miles.
Three of the seven deadly sins in particular will derail your legacy building. Wrath, envy, and pride will damage relationships, leaving behind legacies of destruction and wasted opportunities. Listen to learn how to reduce the impact of these sins on your legacy.
As you author the story of your life and legacy, pause to take inventory of the rich stories have gifted you. Organize them into anthologies that you can draw upon to advance your story. Share your library of anthologies with others to keep the memories and legacies of others alive.
"Get out of your comfort zone." What is next? Without design, this advice is not helpful. "Comfort" is the coming together to strengthen. It is not the avoidance of challenges or absences of hardships. Understand and appreciate your strengths and expand them. Grow your comfort zone and watch your legacy develop.
Pati Rader shares her legacy building experiences after the unexpected death of her husband Ken. Her blog A Widow's Journey tells her story and encourages others to tell theirs. There are times when legacy building requires rebuilding of a life.
As you build your legacy, have you elevated your knowledge into understanding? And, has your understanding matured into wisdom? Wisdom, like a legacy, is not limited to the winter of life. We can harvest its benefits throughout our years if we actively seek it. Wisdom is discerning and separates peace from regret.
A mentor is different from a leader, teacher, advisor, or counselor. The mentor/mentee relationship is covenantal and familial in nature. Listen to embed mentorship into your legacy design and make an impact for generations.
Entrepreneur Sabrina Berhane shares her story of building a welcoming space for her community in the form of a coffee shop. Hear her insights about facing challenges and making commitments to your dreams and to the dreams of others.
Imagine pitching your story and legacy as a situation comedy. Listen to use this exercise to improve storytelling and to bring design into your purpose.
As we enter different seasons of life, have we designed a second spring for our winter years? This episodes discusses how to plant seeds for personal growth throughout the seasons of life to yield a bountiful legacy.
Is your decision to marry or not based on design or default? Have you established your vision, mission, and purpose before making this decision? In this episode, I discuss how design brings clarity to this decision.
I interview Dr. Ron Chambers, a leading authority on human trafficking and how we can train future physicians to recognize and to combat this evil. Â
Have you designed breathing space into your legacy? Have you taken the steps to ensure that your voice invites and does not dominate others? Without space, nothing grows. Listen to this episode to breath space into your legacy and watch it flourish. Â
Hesed encompasses much more than lovingkindness. It is a start to touching others with compassion, grace, and mercy. Bring people together and ensure relationships endure by practicing hesed in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Â
Sometimes, we choose to take a different path in life. Other times, circumstances dictate we turn away from our intended destination. However, we continue to journey. In this episode, I interview journalist turned physician Dr. Leslie Tamura. From her story, we see the importance in focusing on your vision while pursuing different missions to achieve purpose in your legacy. Â
Are you preparing an adult child to leave home? For college? Joining the military? Getting married? How have you prepared for this pivotal moment for the both of you? Listen to this episode with your children as I discuss how your respective legacies are at a crossroads. Invest the time now to ensure that your legacies strengthen each other's and that your paths will meet again. Â
How do you define leadership? What is the story that you want tell with your leadership? I discuss the essence of leadership and its power to tell your legacy story through relationship validation. Â
How you spend your free time away from work and home sends a strong message about your vision, mission, and purpose. This episode discuss how volunteering is a powerful avenue for leadership development, mentorship, and legacy building. Â
Enhance your storytelling abilities by writing more.  Touch those near and those in the future with the written word that is powered by your voice, your vision, and your legacy. Â
What is your decision-making process and how does it relate to defining meaning for your work? In this episode, I reference Bruce Feiler's The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post-Career World to examine why meaning matters to our legacy and our work. Â
Your legacy requires clarity of vision, mission, and purpose. Listen to this episode to understand how these components of your legacy are interconnected and the work required to establish them. Â
Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic's Storytelling with Data helps us improve our presentations with slides. We can draw lessons from this book in designing and building a clearer more impactful legacy. Listen to improve your storytelling and to enhance your legacy building. Â
In this episode, I interviewed Life Options for Seniors co-owner Homa Rostami. She shares her legacy story as a war refugee, entrepreneur/business owner, wife and mother, and philanthropist. Hear her story in her voice and be inspired to build a stronger legacy. Â
Culture surrounds us. It either supports or undermines our efforts. What is your legacy building culture? Have you intentionally built a culture of honesty into your workings? This episode connects culture with legacy, resulting in leadership. Â
Develop your sense of humor and enrich your legacy. Humor opens doors and builds stronger relationships, the type that withstand trials, tribulations, and tragedy. Touch the lives of others with a smile and bestow the gift of laughter. Â
Man's (and woman's) best friend provides us with valuable insights into how to build a legacy that leaves a lasting uplifting impact. Join me to see your canine companion in a different light. Â
As we move forward from the pandemic emergency measures, how do we navigate the aftermath of the pandemic's toll on emotional well-being? Join me in this episode to discuss how legacy building through design can help harmonize work/life and connect to others. Â
Imagine that you are a commencement speaker. What message will you deliver to the next generation? How will it align with your legacy? Join me for this episode as we explore the importance of acknowledging milestones and encouraging others. Â
We leave stones in the road with every thought, word, and deed. Take the time to exam the road traveled and to look to the road ahead. Gather your stones to build a monument of your values and encourage others with a message of hope. Â
Are you growing the resources you have been entrusted to lead? Is your legacy growing the value of time that others have imparted to you? Listen to this episode to make "stone soup" for those hungry for leadership. Â
Building a legacy involves on embarking on many journeys. The most difficult ones requires a clear True North. Without one, you cannot move forward or upward. Find the light that will shine the brightest when it is the darkest. Â
Make mentoring a foundation of your legacy by helping others build their treehouse. The treehouse serves as an analogy for a successful mentor-mentee relationship. Â
Have you refined your legacy message into a mission statement? Is your statement clear, concise, and compelling? Will your legacy dream big and inspire others to dream even bigger? Listen to this episode to build your moonshot legacy. Â
Carol Hymowitz writes that we should prepare for a 60-year career based on longer life expectancy, changing work structure, and economic demands. As you work longer, are you building a legacy that will keep pace? Listen to this episode to ensure your legacy is built for the long haul. Â
Do you have the background and resources to be the chief decision-maker of your life and legacy? Listen to establish a board of mentors and identify the skills you will need to forge the future you envision. Â
How you provide comfort to others will be integral to your legacy building. We are defined by our good times and our bad times. Can you walk in the shoes of others without stepping on their toes in their times of pain and loss? Â
Are your friendships based on a contract or a covenant? How are you prioritizing friendships into your legacy building? This episode examines the importance of friendships in everyday life and in the message of your legacy. Â
Visual hierarchy organizes and prioritizes content to facilitate communication to the audience. Are you using the principle of hierarchy when designing your legacy? Do people know what is most important to you? Â
Are you using visual hierarchy to prioritize what is important in your messaging as part of legacy design and building? Â
This episode concludes the series of incorporating designer Dieter Rams' 10 principles of good design into building your legacy. Are you a consumer or contributor to your home and work ecosystems? Is your legacy building a process or distillation or installation? Listen to build a better legacy through design. Â
Learning to ride a horse imparts valuable leadership lessons in designing and builder your legacy. Sit tall in the saddle and ride into a towards a stronger and more meaningful legacy. Â
Our legacies can be defined by the presence or absence of leadership. The life of Moses provides us with rich and powerful lessons in leadership that build stronger and more meaningful legacies. Â
The next episode of the Legacy Drawing Board will link leadership to legacy and examine the leadership lessons from the life of Moses. Â
Chasing a dream is different from building a legacy. Protect your dream from going sideways by aligning it with legacy building. In this episode, we examine how incorporating the design principles of durability and attention to details achieve this alignment. Â
Being unobtrusive requires focus and discipline; it is a active process, not a passive one. Nothing can endure when it is built upon lies. These two principles will enhance your legacy building. Â
John Barth wrote "The story of your life is not your life; it's your story." Your legacy is your life's story. Are you designing it with purpose in order to convey the message you want to leave with others? Be the author of your life by designing the story you want to tell. Â
Are your thoughts, words, and deeds founded on the design principles of aesthetics and understandability? Â
Influential German industrial designer Dieter Rams outlined 10 principles of good design. In this episode, we examine how the principles of innovation and usefulness can bring about the legacy you want to impart. Â
Your legacy is too important to leave design out of its process and execution. Give your legacy the effort it deserves and we all benefit. Â