People spend thousands of dollars on an elaborate funeral. They buy exquisite flowers, an ornate casket, expensive gravesite and, of course, an engraved marble headstone.
During the funeral service, people share wonderful memories about how the deceased person impacted their lives. The stories continue over a meal as people find comfort in recalling the person’s funny quirks and mannerisms they’ll most remember.
After hugs and tears, people go their separate ways to remember the individual only through photos and, perhaps, a cherished memento, and a program from the memorial service.
For a while, they’ll make regular trips to the gravesite until time brings closure.
The saddest part is knowing the deceased person’s lasting contribution to the world is often just a grave marker. It tells he was born on this date and died on that date. “Beloved husband, father, friend. R.I.P.”
On the grave marker, the dash between the two dates is an inch long, or less. Yet, it fails to encompass the essence of the person’s life. The dash doesn’t reflect his:
- Faith
- Hopes
- Dreams
- Favorite things
- Unique experiences
- Difficult challenges
- Disappointments
- Things that brought true joy
- Real contributions through work and service
The dash doesn’t pay tribute to the people who loved him, shaped him and guided him into the person others will remember the rest of their lives.
There is no genealogy reference to those who came before him, or any genetic legacies they left that may impact his own descendants.
The dash doesn’t mention his ideas that never came to fruition or work he left undone for others to advance what he began.
All the money spent on his funeral failed to retain even a smidgen of his true legacy.
That’s the way life worked for centuries. However, today’s technology allows people to easily capture and permanently retain the essential aspects of their life stories.
Your story is your legacy
Your story relays wisdom and insight not only to the people closest to you, but also for those people who you may never meet, like your great grandchildren. Even complete strangers who shared similar struggles could benefit from the inspiration you leave behind.
The good news is that it doesn’t cost a lot of money to leave a lasting legacy. In fact, it doesn’t cost anything to do it yourself. All it requires is your time.
Help is available, if you want it. Life Story School’s do-it-yourself class can give you the framework to organize your story. We will give you major themes to ponder as well as hundreds of specific topics to consider when sharing your story.
Simply pick the things that matter most to you and write or record your responses.
If you need more help, Life Story School has packages to work with you to tell your story. Or, we can do it all for you from conducting an in-depth interview to writing a professional manuscript and editing audio/video files of you telling your story, your way and in your own words.
Everyone dies twice – First, when his or her body finally gives out and, finally, when their name is mentioned for the last time.
Your story matters! Capture, retain and share it today.