What is left behind?

Ideas. Each one is the beginning of something, the center of a web that can be expanded as time passes. As I've been reading some articles lately about entrepreneurs I've found what appears to be a thread. Starting with a single idea these people made it big but one particular idea is what they are best known for. "Oh you're the guy who made that eh?" My question is: what is your idea going to be? What are you going to be known for? It's not just for business, it's not just for monetary gain, it will be the legacy you leave behind.

What do you like to do?

Though I enjoy writing I haven't written anything that would be a best seller, nor am I a playwrite. I sometimes wonder if I'd ever have the chance or creativity to create a world totally of my own. George Lucas created the beloved Star Wars universe. JK Rowling inspired her readers to wait for an owl carrying a certain letter from a particular school. CS Lewis spread Christian teachings to the world through his metaphoric novels. And the beloved JRR Tolkien constructed a home away from home for those who are adamant page turners. These authors have inspired the world with what they like to do.

That one person

Attending a massive school gives plenty of opportunities to run into people you may not know by name. People tend to remember what people have done rather than their names (actions speak louder than words?). All of us at some point have heard a story from someone else about something happening. From breakups to funny things said, there's always a story connected to someone. Now we find ourselves in public, at a party, or meeting someone our roommate brought over.

"This is so-and-so, remember me talking about them?"
"Um... no?"
"The person who ____________?"
"Oh, yeah!" *queue shaking hands* "That was hilarious! I saw the YouTube video of what you did."

And from then on, they are known by that deed. It's their ID to get into other people's contacts list.

The Legacy

What will people remember about me when I'm gone? Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones..." Unless I do something outstanding that will outweigh my mistakes those who live after me will only hear of the bad. A man who enjoyed painting beautifully is now only remembered for his unjust persecution of the Jews.

What do people want to hear, see, feel, taste, or touch? What product will people want in their lives? Certain characteristics? A particular sense of humor? Something that makes a task easier for them? What will people remember about somebody? The legacy left behind will be what you decide to do with your life. Will you be remembered as someone who was a couch potato or as someone who went out of their way to help others? Will you make a name for yourself in the field of your choice or will you be satisfied with working somewhere you don't want to? I want to be remembered for good, not for bad. I want to write a joyful story full of adventure and love not dismal and story that's plain and begins and ends with me forever wishing but never actually living my dreams.

With the ideas that have begun to spin into webs, which one will we be remembered by? It depends on what audience is watching. Our ideas, our actions, our fate, how can we inspire for the better? We each can make a difference, let's make it a great one.