The Legacy Drawing Board

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.  

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.

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.  

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.