I am definitely an advocate of the philosophy "Go big or go home." So I figured, why not ask one of the biggest questions in the world for my first blog post? I will give you my answer to the question in a minute. But first, how about a little discussion?
It
is my opinion that the question, "What do you want to be
remembered for?" is one of the most important questions you can
ever ask yourself. It's not my question. I've taken it from St.
Augustine who said that asking this question is, "The beginning
of adulthood." Unfortunately a lot of people (perhaps most)
never ask themselves this powerful question (much less answer it.)
And answering it is deceptive for, at first glance, it might appear
to be easy. However, I can assure you that answering Augustine's
question is anything but easy. It is a question that you should
continue to ask yourself for the rest of your life because the answer
is sure to evolve over time.
There
are other ways to conceptualize the saint's question. Stephen Covey
implores us to write a personal mission statement. I am a huge fan of
Covey's but his exercise is a bit too academic for my taste. To me,
the question which headlines this post is elegant in its simplicity.
But I have also heard this challenge couched in rather macabre terms.
Some people suggest that you write your own eulogy and then just
trace the steps back to where you are today. I say, to each his own.
So, however you want to think about it is fine with me. As long as
you do think about it.
This
is, of course, an exercise for the big boys and girls. In fact, most
people (myself included) are unable to give a good answer until at
least their mid-thirties. “Joseph Schumpeter, one of the greatest
economists of the 20th century, claimed at twenty-five that he had
wanted to be remembered as the best horseman in Europe, the greatest
lover in Europe, and as a great economist. By age sixty, just before
he died, he was asked the question again. He no longer talked of
horsemanship and he no longer talked of women. He said he wanted to
be remembered as the man who had given an early warning of the
dangers of inflation. That is what he is remembered for and, it's
worthwhile being remembered for. Asking that question changed him,
even though the answer he gave at twenty-five was singularly stupid.”
Let
me give you my answer to the question, in hopes that it might spur
you on. Please understand, I accept the fact that my answer might be
completely stupid. But, I know I have to at least try to give an
answer, or else I can never improve it. My answer to St. Augustine's
brilliant question is the following. I want to remembered for
climbing big mountains and inspiring people. When I say that, I am
using the metaphorical mountain. Though I don't rule it out as a
possibility, I'm not much of a rock climber. I simply mean I want to
accomplish big goals. Both for the feeling of fiero and to inspire
folks with my example.
Though
I wouldn't have been able to articulate it at the time, I began to
develop my mission during my senior year of high school. Up until
that point my GPA was somewhere at or below 2.0. I decided I needed
to make some changes in my life. And so, I decided I was going to go
to college. I thought about which subject, which major, would be the
absolute hardest to conquer. The answer I arrived at was chemistry. I
then asked myself which university was the best in chemistry. The
answer was Berkeley. So I made it my goal to graduate from Berkeley
with a degree in chemistry. And, I can happily report to you, I
achieved that goal. But the real joy was watching my girlfriend, who
otherwise had no interest in scholastics, graduate with a degree in
math from Cal Poly.
I'll
give you another example. I have struggled with my weight for most of
my life. I grew up the fat kid and that might be part of the reason I
did poorly in high school. I was so miserable and had such low
self-esteem I figured, “What's the point?” Like many boys, my
dream was to be a professional baseball player. And I will tell you
the exact day I figured out that it wasn't going to happen for me. We
were playing a game and I was up to bat. I hit a line drive to right
field and people started to cheer. But the cheers quickly went silent
as I got thrown out at first base! I was so heavy, and slow, that the
right-fielder got the ball to first base before me. Embarrassing to
say the least. So, I decided something had to change. A few years
later, through sheer determination and force-of-will, I lost 100
pounds. That's great and all but the real payoff came when some of
the people around me got inspired and lost weight too.
So
again, I must ask you, “What do you want to be remembered for?”
Maybe you don't have an answer right now, and that's fine. Just make
sure you do establish your answer, for it will give you an excellent
target to shoot at.
