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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Category Archives: Changing Your Life

September 23, 2026 What is Your Everyday Legacy?

In my last blog post, I discussed Legacy (with a capital “L”), focusing on the overarching impact a person might leave behind. This week, I’m drilling down a bit and addressing the concept of “everyday legacy,” the effects a person can have on those around them on a daily basis.

There’s a famous saying (often attributed to Lao Tzu) that goes: “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” This is the main idea behind an everyday legacy. Your daily thoughts, words, and actions matter.

Although they may not seem to make much of a difference in the moment, what you do and how you behave can form who you are and how you’re perceived. A passing conversation, a comment in a meeting, a kind gesture, or even your body language can speak volumes about your genuine persona. You never know what kind of impact you’re making on someone—the impression you’re leaving during a discussion or interaction.

In short, it all matters. That may seem daunting, but it can also be viewed as an opportunity. You have the opportunity to put your best foot forward at all times and in all situations. Recognizing this can help guide you through everyday situations.

Will you respond with an insult/snarky comment or with understanding and kindness?

Will you choose to engage in gossip or push back?

Will you recognize others achievements or gloss over them?

Will you include someone in the conversation or ignore them?

All these choices make a difference, and they add up over time. Even though it might seem like a small thing to send someone a thank you card or commend someone’s work during a meeting, these types of gestures are often remembered. And they all accumulate to make up your core personality—who you are and how you’re perceived.

The main thing to keep in mind is that you have a choice when it comes to everyday legacy. If you want to be known as a fair and caring leader, you can choose to behave in a way that reflects that persona. If you want others to see you as a sharp contributor, show up as that person as often as you can. Lean into your best self—the self you want others to know and recognize.

Your everyday legacy can be shaped by YOU. How will you demonstrate it today through words and actions?

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.

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September 9, 2026 What Will You Leave Behind? (A big question!)

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

In my retirement years, I’ve been thinking a lot about legacy. What are the things a person leaves behind as they walk through life? How will people remember you? What influences will you pass along to family, friends, and co-workers?

To me, there are two types of legacies:

  1. The capital-L Legacy is the overarching legacy, the way you’ll be remembered after you pass on.
  2. The lowercase-l legacy is the briefer, shorter-term one, the impact you have on those around you on a daily basis.

Both types of legacies are important, and this week I will be focusing on the capital-L Legacy, the one that deals with your long-term impact. (My next post will address “everyday legacy,” so stay tuned!)

Everyone makes their mark on history, whether in a soft, subtle way or in a visible, major way. In reality, most of us will have a smaller ripple than the big names in history, but that’s okay! Even if you can positively impact five or ten people, that’s a Legacy worth leaving.

Keep in mind, your Legacy goes beyond money or finances (although philanthropy, charitable giving, and estate planning could be part of it). Your Legacy might be tied to your volunteer work, or your generous and loving spirit, or the way you prioritize your family. It might be rooted in your dedication to your career and all the people you supported and mentored along the way. Or it could be tied to your faith and your involvement in your worship community.

Legacy could also be tied to the things you created—photographs you took, woodworking projects you created, paintings you made, or essays you wrote. For years, I’ve worked with Kate Leibfried, founder of Click Clack Writing, and she often focuses on this type of work (ghostwriting memoirs and business books for her clients). Recently, she spoke about this type of Legacy in a webinar for Everbright Legacy Law. One of her main messages was that words (particularly those that come from the heart and are not AI generated) have staying power. If you want to tell your true, authentic story, what’s stopping you? Everyone has a story to tell, and it could be worth writing it down.

Keep in mind, big-picture Legacies do not happen overnight. They are the result of years of living authentically, planning, giving, and being involved. As a thought exercise, consider this: What would people write in your memorial or obit today? If you are unsure or if you don’t think they would write what you’d want to hear, consider how you might change that. If you want to be known for your generosity, start planning how to amplify your giving. If you want to leave a Legacy of good works/volunteerism, figure out how to do that. If you’d like to leave behind your physical creations, start making more art!

Just make sure you’re doing what feels authentically and wholly you. A Legacy doesn’t have to be flashy or loud. It should simply reflect who you are at your core.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.

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August 5, 2026 Applying Your Skills and Talents to Retirement

Retirement can seem like an end, or the closing of a chapter. Since we naturally mourn endings, this might seem like a sad or confusing time for some people, especially those who have spent most of their lives in the rhythm of work. And those who tend to link their identity to their career (I wrote about this last month; click HERE for more).

But we do not necessarily need to think of retirement as an end. Instead, it could be a continuation—a continuation of all the skills, lessons, habits, and talents we have acquired during our careers.

Don’t Toss Your Skills Away

When you retire, there’s no need to throw away all the wisdom and practical skills you accumulated as a professional. In fact, I see that as both a disservice to yourself and others. You’ve spent hours building your skillset, acquiring expertise, and learning lessons of all types, and it would be a shame to let that go to waste.

Instead, I challenge you to take an inventory of your competencies and start thinking about how they can be applied to a post-retirement life. This doesn’t mean you have to go back to work, but it could mean leading a committee, spearheading a volunteer initiative, or applying your creativity to a community project. Or it could simply mean helping your children or grandchildren by applying your background experience to their lives (admin and/or planning skills, artistic ability, communication prowess, etc.).

Alternatively, you could use your talents to plan leisure activities or getaways. Are you hoping to read more? Consider planning a book club (this could entail using communication, coordination, and planning skills). Looking to take a cross-country road trip? Put your logistics planning expertise to the test. Hoping to live abroad for part of the year? Use your love of lifelong learning to begin practicing a new language.

Reflecting on Skills

When thinking about the skills, do not discount anything as too small or seemingly insignificant. Start listing the abilities that come to mind. For example, you might excel at any of the following:

  • Leading a team
  • Engaging in tough conversations
  • Listening
  • Planning/coordination
  • Clear communication
  • Creativity (creative thinking, writing, and/or design)
  • Cheerleading or drumming up excitement/support
  • Analytics

Keep your list handy and add to it whenever you think of an additional skill. You might also ask your friends or family members what abilities or talents come to mind when they think of you.

Once you have your list, you can determine how these skills could apply to your retirement passions and/or projects. Are you hoping to volunteer at your grandchildren’s elementary school? You might use your artistic creativity to help with school plays, classroom art, etc. Would you like to volunteer in the community? You might lean on your communication abilities and leadership experience to spearhead an initiative.

In short: You’ve earned these skills, and they don’t have to fade away when you retire. Thinking of ways to employ them will help keep you sharp while simultaneously serving those around you. Your experience was hard-won, so why not carry it into this new chapter?

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.

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