Writing Your Spiritual Legacy
Joe’s Corner Blog
August 9, 2008
It’s been a long time since I posted my last article and I do apologize to the almost 6,000 Joe’s Corner monthly. I am most gratified and thankful to all those that do find some value in what I’ve been able to deliver, and that it may be somewhat useful from professional and personal perspective.
Our daughter Laure is an RN and has worked in the spinal care injury department of Shriners Hospital, Philadelphia, for over 20 years. She will graduate, summa cum laude, with her BS in Nursing, later this summer. Laure is a very special person, one has to be, to care for paraplegics and quadriplegics, who need exceptional and specialized treatment. She began working on her BS after her children were in junior high and she attended night and weekend classes. We are so proud of her and hold her up as a model of what can be accomplished through perseverance and the willingness to sacrifice to achieve a goal. Laure is now in the Shriners spinal cord research department and planning on starting her Masters program.
A requirement of her last class was to write a spiritual legacy, i.e. what did she want to leave behind for her children and special people in her life that had nothing to do with anything material. Laure said that it was one of the most difficult assignments that she was ever asked to complete, in a class that had nothing to do with nursing! She thought long and hard about what was important to her and what of herself she wanted to leave behind that could make a difference in the life of someone she loved.
When Laure shared this with me, it was the inspiration I was looking to write this article. I’ve been contemplating what to share with you that was unique and what you all could use to shape your individual strategies, both personally and professionally. I put myself in Laure’s place and asked “what’s my professional legacy?” What do I want to be remembered for that might make some small difference? I remembered the story of
a couple walking in the sand and the man reached down and picked up a sea urchin that was stranded on the beach, throwing it back into the sea. His friend asked what was the point as there were hundreds that were in the same situation with only the tide to hope for, but that death was ultimately their fate. He responded that throwing one back made a difference, to that one in particular, and for that it was worth the effort.
So in our individual professional legacy, we don’t have to try to identify the problems and solutions that will have dramatic effects. We can leave behind a story of one relatively small solution that contributed to the success of a team that had been hit with a particularly difficult challenge. We can think about the kindness of contacting an old friend who had hit hard times and was without a job and helping that person network.
Our professional legacy could be that we listened and remained non judgmental. That we cared for others rather than having others care for us. That we negotiated fairly, looking for each side to come away with a win and could find satisfaction in knowing that fair play ruled the day.
There is no final summation of what your professional legacy should include as it is profoundly personal. It’s really about what example you will leave behind with those who love you, personally and professionally. Yep, love is a powerful expression and be sure to let those you love know your feelings as part of your contemporary legacy.
Till next time, and I promise it won’t take a month, joe


