Our Legacy – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

A purpose and what we leave behind

Photo by Giammarco on Unsplash

At some point in life, many questions get answered. One of them is: why am I here? Or, for an organization: why are we here? Either way, the answer goes a long way toward defining the ultimate end we’ll keep striving for and never fully reach (I don’t mean it’s a mystery, or that it isn’t worth knowing why we’re here). The goal of all goals is purpose. The life of a person, or of a group of people, should leave a legacy, and a track record of actions guided by purpose is what will make sure it does.

This week I’ve been reflecting on legacy as the product of a virtuous life, and on how it connects to the life purpose of a person or an organization. First, I thought, we need to define what a legacy is, and then what a purpose is. Both definitions are personal. Each of us has to define what we want to leave behind (legacy) and why (purpose). Nobody else can hand us that definition. A third big question also came to mind: how long will the legacy last? How long do legacies last at all?

The ideas that were put into practice and still endure are the ones that have done the most good for humanity. They’re part of a great legacy of wisdom, carried out with plenty of courage and, above all, justice. If we want to leave a legacy, we need the right perspective on this journey. It’s a project with a beginning and an end, and at some point it will cease to exist. That should bring us straight to deciding how to live from now on, knowing the inevitable will come sooner or later, and still wanting to leave a legacy.

Memento mori is a phrase I learned from the Stoics: "Remember that you will die." At first it can sound harsh, but at heart it’s a simple reminder of something that will happen. It’s the perspective we need for this journey, the sense of urgency that pushes us to discover our purpose and live by it, trusting that every action guided by a firm, clear purpose will slowly build, like an investment account, the legacy we want to leave. The exercise is simple. Think about whose legacies endure, how many there are, how much those people are remembered and why, and who remembers them, and how many.

What legacy will you leave? To whom? How many years do you think it will last?

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

• P.S. This week’s VELA:
• What I was watching: Africa is not poor because of colonization. Dr. Jordan B Peterson and Magatte Wade in a very interesting video about freedom and prosperity
  – What I was listening to: Tráeme la noche. I listened to a lot this week, but my brother Sergio reminded me of this song. At times I feel nostalgic about Cerati’s death. I was very sorry when he passed. What a legacy he left
  – What I was reading: El economista callejero (The Street Economist). A book by Axel Kaiser that, as the cover says, is "the one economics book you have to read if you only read one in your life"
  – What I was learning: Achieving Metabolic Flexibility Through Fasting. I’ve always liked The Joe Rogan Experience, and this interview is wonderful

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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