Good morning,
My current read is “Raising a Modern Day Knight” by Robert Lewis (http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Modern-Day-Knight-Fathers-Authentic/dp/1589973097/). In the book the author talks about a father's role in guiding his son to authentic manhood. It is a great book for fathers, men and everyone else.
In one section of the book Robert Lewis talks about leaving a legacy and in it he talks about how the legacy that is often left is not the one that was intended. As an example he uses the Gettysburg Memorial event which happen on November 19, 1863.
David Wills was appointed by then Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin to oversee the burial of soldiers at the battle of Gettysburg as well as coordinate the Memorial. David Wills did a masterful job and coordinating the ceremonial burial and sometimes reburial of each of the soldiers from the battle. He also had to plan for the Memorial service itself and make it huge to build on the change in momentum the battle had caused in the Civil War.
His plan was to invite Secretary of State Edward Everett to give the keynote speech at the Memorial. Edward Everett was a well-known speaker in the day and had given many very popular speeches in very high profile events. Almost as an afterthought David Wills invited President Lincoln to also speak with request to keep it short.
As you know at this event Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address. After Everett’s 2 hour speech, a camera man took his time before photographing Lincoln, only to find the speech ended within minutes, and he missed the photo. This 200+ word speech is taught in schools and remembered by many, many Americans. While we may not know all the words, hearing fourscore and 20 years ago, is something that jogs are memory back to this famous speech.
Many of you probably never heard of Edward Everett prior to this message. A man who was the one who was supposed to leave the legacy of this event. Yet I hope we all know of Lincoln.
As in our lives those things that we wish to be remembered by may not be what we are remembered by.
Often it is not the big grandiose accomplishments that we do in our lives that we are remembered for. It's often the small often forgotten things that we do that have the most lasting meaning in the lives of others.
It's those things that we say and do in the everyday conversations activities are lives that often stand to have the greatest impact in the lives of others and become our legacy.
It’s often those things that the we figure no one sees us say or do that become our legacy.
Our legacy is not made by us it's made by what others remember of us.
Every day we should consider our actions and how we treat others, basically our character.
This is how we will be remembered more often than not.
How would you like to be remembered?
Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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