Remember me this way.

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What will the history books say about you?  What will people remember most about me?  Will we do something so great that the world will raise a monument to our memories, or will we just exist and go away without anyone noticing that we are no longer around?

I know how I want to be remembered, do you? I've written many times in the past that to me I want to go away with people remembering me as a great friend.  One who put the needs of others ahead of my own and that I wanted to leave the world a better place.  This does not come from a place of conceit but rather because I want others to discover the greatness in themselves, and in doing so they will help others discover the greatness they resides inside of them.

I know of many people who have achieved some pretty fantastic things in life.   We have had historical figures who have saved entire cities and towns, others have invented things that have changed the face of this planet.  There are people who have done things that might seem to be pretty insignificant, but to the one person who was the recipient of this action, it changed their life.  So how do you want to be remembered?

If you had the opportunity to look back at your life after you have departed this existence, what do you think others will be saying about you?  It is my hope that those who knew me, those who read my books or postings, and those who benefited from my efforts will simply acknowledge that they are better now for having known me.  Once again not a point of conceit, rather a desire to share who I am with others.

We try to pass on our best traits to our children so that they will be able to function in this world and have opportunities that we either missed or messed up.  We want our friends and loved ones to have lives that are free from worry, free from fear, and full of peace, joy, and happiness.  Do we do this because we want those monuments in our honor, or do we do this because that is who we are?  If I leave and no one ever places a statue of me in the City Square does that make me a failure?  I hardly think so, but there are others out there who are looking for these things as a testament to what they accomplished in life.

If your first thought about why you do something is how will it be remembered by others, then I will tell you that you will go through your entire life trying to reach a point that will be impossible to reach.  If your ego is what drives you, then you will never get that peace you seek because you will never be able to accomplish enough to put the ego in check.  Please don't misunderstand me, I know that we can never take ourselves out of the equation all together.  There is always a motivation to do things, the question is, what is your motivation?  If the motivation is simply to gain the praise and admiration of others, you might very well succeed at this, but what could have been the result had you placed your needs for admiration behind the needs of others?

We have been conditioned by man to believe that only those who reach the top will somehow be remembered for their great feats.  We have been conditioned by man to think that only doing something truly phenomenal will get one in the history books.  I happen to believe that the history books have left out a whole lot of people who have done a whole lot of good in this world.  I have known people who have not done anything worthy of a paragraph in any historical recap of things, but what they did for me changed my life.  Many people who have changed my life probably don't even realize the role they played in my life nor the significance of that role.  I don't know if I could ever go back and tell each one what a special gift they imparted in me, but I know what they have done, and I know I would not be the person I am today were it not for them.

If in your life you have only managed to help one solitary person, then I will tell you that you are worthing of a monument.  Changing one life could change the face of this planet.  We must get away from thinking in terms of greatness, and instead thinking in terms of greater.  What is the greater gift, displaying love, understanding, and comfort to a single individual, or building an empire worthing of mention in the history books?  If it is your destiny to build an empire then great, if done for the right reason you will impact other's lives.  If the completion of this empire is nothing more then fuel for your ego, then you will still be empty inside.

Being remembered is something we all want, but let the reason be one that places others ahead of yourself.  My tombstone will read something pretty simple, "He was a friend".  I will sell millions of books, make thousands of speeches, but in the end, I simply want to be remembered as someone who loved others enough to put their needs ahead of my own. What do you want to be remembered for?  It is time to answer this question.  I may take you time to get the answer but that's OK,  until you can get the answer I bet that your time will not run out.