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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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May 7, 2025 Your Actions Matter (even if you don’t realize it)

Photo by Linus Nylund on Unsplash

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
– Mother Teresa

In these tumultuous times, when everything seems to be changing at lightning speed, it is easy to feel like a very small fish in a very big pond. Politics, technology, the economy—it all seems so chaotic and beyond our control. Additionally, when we turn on the news or log onto social media, we’re often blasted with the latest problems and scandals of the day, which can send us down a rabbit hole of bad news and hot takes.

With so much going on—so many changes and so much chaos—it is easy to become discouraged, overwhelmed, or even depressed. What can one person do against such large forces? How can one voice or one action possibly make a difference? Take heart! It’s possible your actions matter more than you think.

The Ripple Effect

When you throw a rock into a pond, it sends out ripples that change the surface of the water. This is a common metaphor that illustrates how one small action can make a world of difference. Every decision you’ve ever made has had some kind of effect, whether the decision was small (choosing to drive a certain route, deciding to say hi to a grocery clerk, etc.) or large (deciding if (and where) to go to college, choosing who to marry, etc.).

These choices can impact you, those around you, and even people you’ve never met. For example, if you choose to be kind to a grocery clerk, that person might brighten up a bit and say something nice to another customer, who, in turn, might leave a generous tip at dinner that evening, potentially helping out a server who needs a little extra money to care for her sick child. That chain of events might sound far-fetched, but things like this happen every day. Our actions ripple out in ways we will never fully know.

In other words, your decisions matter! Because of that, I encourage you to stop feeling small and start taking intentional actions, knowing that they can (and do) make a difference.

Focus on Small Actions

Although most of us are not equipped to singlehandedly influence large systems or the “powers that be,” we can make an impact through small, meaningful actions. Your actions might be directed toward any of the following:

  • Community (getting to know your neighbors better, helping someone with their yardwork)
  • Family (taking time to be present, scheduling a family trip)
  • Workplace (setting clear boundaries, asking for help when you need it, standing up for a co-worker)
  • Politics (attending a protest, making a phone call)
  • The Environment (picking up trash, planting a bee-friendly garden)
  • …the list goes on!

Your everyday actions matter. Even if you cannot see their full impact, just know that every decision you make (no matter how small) can potentially create a positive or negative influence. Because of that, it’s a good idea to move mindfully through the world, choosing to act with kindness, patience, and understanding. It does make a difference.

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. 
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE. 

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March 15, 2017 What is your everyday legacy?

everyday legacy

When you think of the term “Legacy,” you probably think of the grand achievements that people are remembered for. It’s the scholarship fund that you founded or the football stadium that’s named after you.

Sure, those are Legacies. But they are the big-picture results. They’re the long-term Legacies that you leave behind. I urge you to focus on your living legacy—the everyday things you do that impact others and the world.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t think about your long-term Legacy (or your “capital L” Legacy). It’s great to think about the future and work toward lofty goals. However, this kind of thinking sometimes causes people to lose sight of what’s in front of them. How can you make an impact through a conversation with a co-worker? Or by showing up to your child’s basketball game? Or by visiting a lonely neighbor? Or by donating a couple of hours to a soup kitchen?

Your “little l” legacy is just as powerful (if not more) than your “big L” Legacy. All those small actions and interactions add up. You never know how your words, behaviors, kind gestures, or attitude will affect those around you.

This concept of “little l” legacy versus “big L” Legacy is something we explore in Insights® Deeper Discovery. Deeper Discovery is an interactive workshop that utilizes science-based tools to explore participants’ personal paths as they relate to leadership, teams, communication, improved self-understanding, and much more. As a Deeper Discovery facilitator, I have worked with individuals who were experiencing anxiety or frustration because their big L Legacy wasn’t falling into place. They weren’t where they thought they would be at this point in their lives and they were having trouble figuring out which direction to turn next. In other words, they were feeling utterly lost.

Focusing on your little l legacy can help illuminate a path.

If you start to focus on what matters during your day-to-day, you start making the very best of what is currently around you. And that can open opportunities that you might not have noticed when you were busy being distressed about your lack of progress toward your Legacy.

How will you start to shift your focus to making a daily difference? What legacy will you leave tomorrow? Today? In your next conversation? Start making small positive impacts today and see how your world will change.

If you’d like more information on the Insights® Deeper Discovery program, please feel free to reach out and contact me.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM

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