A chameleons truth is revealed not by their actions, but by their shadow.
So is your legacy.
You cannot buy one.
You cannot lie, cheat or steal your way to a good and lasting reputation.
Your legacy is determined by those you leave behind.
If what you leave behind you is a wake of destruction in pursuit of fortune and notoriety, no one will remember you for anything other than what you truly are.
How different do you think people would act if relatives started marking tombstones with “Glory Hound” or “Bad Partner”?
All of this to ask, how do you measure your success?
Where do you place your value?
The moments in life that most think of as trivial, can truly set you apart.
Mark your shower hours.
Find focus amidst the chaos.
But when there is calm, do not corrupt it with clutter.
We must, all of us, trust those fleeting moments of momentum.
When the slightest nudge of productive ambition sneaks in to disrupt a chronic waste of time.
If what we want is to create change…
To provoke thought…
To incite awareness…
We cannot stand idly by and expect someone else to get their hands dirty.
When you bake, there are certain moments when meddling can ruin your build.
There are also times when, in order to get it to mix and grow, you need to agitate it.
Understanding the difference limits the mess and creates a yield for your effort.
In the same way that there is no point in screaming for “fair” or “change” without really understanding what came before you;
we have to acknowledge the work that others have done to allow us to grow from where we are.
We cannot truly heed the living, without a reverence for the dead.
Go forth.
Scratch, claw, rend…agitate.
Be gret at it. Take accountability for it.
Stand and be seen.