Legends and Legacies

For rational beings, every action has an end in mind. For Legendary Leaders the end is something that lasts longer than the span of their lives. Grabbing fifteen minutes of fame is of no interest to such people. The end they have in mind is generational and eternal. –Monte E Wilson, Legendary Leadership

Creating our personal legends, as I used that phrase in my book, is not about becoming famous, just as leaving a legacy worthy of our faith, beliefs, ideals, and vision, is not about being famous long after we are dead. However important my work is, what is of far greater importance is the vision I have of the world that I wish to help create, and the ideals with which I wish to fill that world. Because of this, Legendary Leaders think in terms of generations.

Thinking generationally infers that we are planning and working in ways where the vision that is guiding our lives is carried on into the future. This requires that we are constantly seeking to instill our vision for our worlds into the hearts and minds of others, educating them as to how to transfer what is ethereal (the vision) into other heads and hearts, where we all then are seeking to transform neighborhoods and communities, businesses and institutions, into real places that incarnate our vision: places that will live on long after we die.

Part of the vision I have for my life is motivating people toward an abiding intention to developing great souls, for only such souls are capable of great world changing deeds. However, and this is critical, by “world” I am referring to the worlds in which the people are living and working, the world that consists of their families, churches, schools, neighborhoods, and offices. Most of us do not have platforms or callings to change the trajectory of the nations in which we live! We do, however, have platforms in our little corners of the world. It is here, in these corners, where we seek to realize or manifest our visions.

Another aspect of my vision is motivating people toward creating God honoring environments. Whether the environment is their homes, their neighborhoods, their churches, or their offices, I believe that each of us has the responsibility of doing what we can to create places where God the Creator and Father is honored in word and deed. We do this, first, by being God honoring people ourselves: through being men and women who honor the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, that we find in God in all that we are, say, and do. Second, we then, as servants not lords, seek to influence others to live in the same manner.

However small my corner of the world is, and however small my actual deeds are, in everything I do I am seeking to bring God--the nature of God, and the ways of God--into greater clarity in the minds and hearts of the people I influence. Whatever your particular vision is, whatever ideals are most critical to you for people to incarnate in their lives, I believe all of us are “called” to do our part in bringing greater clarity to people’s minds as to Who God Is. In Christian language, this is what it means to “glorify God,” and has to do with eternity.  

From my book: Legendary Leadership: 
“Bringing glory to God is not about passing out religious pamphlets or having some pious bon mot written on your stationary or a bumper sticker. Glorifying God is about going on a Quest to become the person He created you to be, about working to make our families, neighborhoods, schools, and offices, more God-honoring environments, and about Questing after the reason you are here and, then, seeking to fulfill that reason.”

“The Legend that matters most, of course, is God’s. His reputation in the earth is The End of all ends. The more our personal legend is tied to His, the greater our legacy. I am not one who thinks God needs our help, mind you. I do believe, however, that He chooses to allow us to participate in His plans for the earth. The more our plans and actions support His, the more clarity we bring to the awareness of others as to His greatness.”  How’s that for a Legend and a Legacy?

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2013