Jolt!, Phil Cooke [reading women txt] 📗

of the legacy they created in the lives of millions. People will always be your greatest investment, and no matter how much money you make, you can never leave enough to outweigh the influence and impact you leave when you spend your life helping other people.

» YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RICH OR INFLUENTIAL TO START MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

All it takes is the effort and desire to change someone’s life. Find a younger executive to mentor, help a needy family, or take a leadership role in the life of a teen. One of the most shameful aspects of our modern culture is the tragic numbers of children growing up without a mom or a dad. Men— find a teenage boy without a father and develop a “big brother” relationship. Help that young man grow into manhood with a father figure, and share your life experience and resources with him.

In the same way, women can play an identical role for girls and young women who are growing up without mothers. I went to elementary school with a girl whose mom had died of cancer. She and her younger sister were being raised by a father who had little knowledge of the complexities of raising girls. I’ll never forget how adult women in the church would make the effort to help those girls with motherly advice, teaching them things their father could never understand about becoming a woman.

The movie The Blind Side is the story of a poor, homeless, and uneducated teenaged boy named Michael Oher, who was given a second chance by a Memphis family. When Leigh Anne and Sean Touhy invited Michael into their home, it changed his life and theirs as well. Their unconditional love, support, and mentoring allowed him to finish high school, become an All-American offensive left tackle at the University of Mississippi, and graduate from college. He later became the number one NFL draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens.

There is someone within your reach right now who needs you to make a difference. It won’t be hard once you make a habit of looking. In many ways, that’s actually the key to investing in people—the ability to see. So many people go through life oblivious to the people or needs that surround them, but once you sharpen your senses toward people you can really help, you’ll begin to see lives you can impact on a regular basis.

» INVEST IN PEOPLE, AND YOUR RETURN WILL LAST FOR GENERATIONS.

Third, be deliberate about your legacy.

Don’t wait until the last minute, start planning now. What are some of the things you can leave behind as a legacy?

Books, music, a journal, great projects, buildings, students, children, inventions, breakthroughs, research, innovation, creativity, solutions, designs, money, property, investments, good advice, education, favor, networks, forgiveness, photographs, documents, a successful business, software, movies, lectures, experience, and the list goes on and on.

Your legacy can be anything that makes people realize that you left a mark and the world is a better place because you passed through. Most people limit a legacy to only money, books, or artistic works, but brainstorm about what you can leave behind—it could be nearly anything—as long as it makes a positive difference for at least one person.

» BUT TO LEAVE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT, YOU NEED TIME, AND THAT’S WHY IT’S CRITICAL THAT YOU START THINKING ABOUT IT NOW.

Fourth, start small.

My daughter Bailey told me years ago that she had started keeping a journal. Every night before bedtime, she took a few minutes to write down her thoughts, ideas, and reflections on the day. As we discussed it, she remarked how much she wished her grandfather had done the same thing. He came out of a small Southern town to become a Golden Gloves boxer, World War II hero, educator, pastor—how much it would mean to her today to be able to read his reflections through the years, particularly during critical periods in his life.

You have no idea how much a simple, daily journal could mean for your children and grandchildren years from today. A personal journal is a great place to start, and it doesn’t take much to begin. If you don’t like to write, record it. With tiny digital recorders and voice recognition software, there’s no reason you can’t leave an amazing record of your life.

Fifth, learn the power of investment.

A few years ago, I read the story of a widowed public high school teacher in the Midwest who never made more than about $35,000 a year during her entire lifetime. She had no children, and when she died, the community was stunned to discover that she had left millions of dollars as a financial gift to a local college. How did she do it? Saving her money and a simple program of investing. She wasn’t an investment genius and was actually quite conservative in her decisions, but with some good advice, respectable stock choices, and the power of compound interest, a meager salary was turned into a legacy of millions by the time she died. Thanks to her financial vision, for many years to come, hundreds of students will reap the benefits of that one teacher’s legacy.

Chances are, most readers will already be involved in a serious investment strategy. If so, begin thinking about how to maximize a portion of your money for the purpose of making a financial difference in an educational institution, church, charity, or nonprofit organization after you’re gone.

And if you don’t have many financial resources, don’t wait “until you have money” to invest. Begin today to put something—anything—into a savings account, and work from there. Learn about mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and other financial opportunities. Learn about the real estate market. I’m not a financial advisor, so I encourage you to talk with one. Check them out carefully and get recommendations from people you trust. There are a lot of con artists out there, so you can never be too careful or cautious when it comes to your money.

But do it today.