Memories Produce A Dividend #377

Memories Produce A Dividend #377

If you’d like to hear this message instead of reading it, tune in to the Living Your Legacy Podcast.

We are in that spring-break time of year when thousands head south, chasing sunshine. But today is not about vacations. It is about what really lasts: the work you do, the memories you create, and the experiences you choose to invest in. Many people say what happens on vacation stays there, but the truth is, memories travel. The strength of the experience you create, especially for your kids, determines how much stays with them long after the trip is over.

People often ask me what it means to live your legacy. Simply put, it’s flipping the script and being intentional with your actions today so you don’t regret missed opportunities later. I’ve been reading Die With Zero by Bill Perkins, and he’s helped me connect the dots even more. With his insights, three things are part of your legacy: Work, Memories, Experiences, and how we invest in them daily.

God has designed us to produce, but to what length? But the question that I ask myself, and I’ll ask you, is, overwork adding to or subtracting from your legacy? We work for many reasons. To give our kids a lifestyle that we didn’t have. To prepare for future events. And to meet our needs, achieve our wants, and solve problems. It’s not a sin to desire to be the best at something, to reach the top of the ladder and have nice things, but at what cost?

Isn’t it ironic that we’re taught to live within our means, spend less than we earn, or save for the future, but nothing is ever shared about overworking? I guess it’s expected that we work more than required, serve more than asked, and give more to the company today, so the cards fall right later. But again, at what cost? I believe you get one “moment” with your kids because before you know it, they’ll move out. Will the money you earned from overwork dominate their memory?

Speaking of memories. Your legacy will live on in the memories your children have of you. Bill Perkins suggests that we can start investing in memory dividends. Sure, your kids will remember big trips and events, but what will they remember about their everyday experiences? Your legacy is in those memories, and today you can add to those memories with the love you shared. The words you spoke matched your actions. And whether you disciplined with love and guidance or with anger. Now, please don’t over-hype memory dividends, thinking they need to be big to matter. That’s false. But also, don’t ignore them. Just be aware that you are investing in your child’s memory dividend every day. I hope you can confidently answer whether their memory dividend of you increased or decreased.

Lastly, what about experiences? Again, experiences that last don’t need to be big, but they need to happen. Experiences can be thought of in two ways. One, when planning an experience, ask yourself: What is the return on experience (ROE)? Does it provide your children with short-term enjoyment and long-term memories? If so, then invest in the experience and take it now while you still can. You can also score the experience based on the number of experience points. Make it a game, keep a scorecard, and set a goal of accumulating so many experience points per year. But remember to view your experiences through their lens. So you can answer, did that experience add to or subtract from my legacy and their memory today?

Bill Perkins and I agree that we still have time to live our best legacy in the experiences and memories we create. So start living it today. To learn how, visit lighthouselegacies.com and listen to the Living Your Legacy Podcast.