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A friend gave me a book to read recently and after reading it I wrote this piece which I shall now share with you as follows.
A synopsis of “The Legacy Effect,” a book written by Adam Ginsberg, just a brief from me.
To start with let’s understand this first.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines “legacy” as “money or property that is given to you by somebody when they die.”
Somewhere else it is defined as a gift of personal property by will, or something handed down or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. A good synonym would be inheritance or endowment.
There are of course many novels written about “legacy” but this one by Adam Ginsberg is somewhat different. It looks at one particular kind of legacy that in the author’s mind has undoubtedly the greatest effect or impact on its inheritor’s (or beneficiary’s) life.
He is not talking about an inheritance of any monetary kind which as we all know will diminish or dissipate one way or another with time but believe it or not, an inheritance of a kind that even time will not destroy nor devalue. It has the effect to continually transform lives. You might ask what it is (?)
It is the ageless “wisdom or lessons” gleaned from a life well-lived that are left behind for another to emulate. Yes, that’s the kind of legacy which will have the greatest effect /impact on lives, right? No doubt it will be a challenge to many of us, if we want to follow it.
The challenge is of course don’t just leave a legacy of money or property, but leave behind something that outlasts time, something that can become your beneficiary’s companion for a whole lifetime and even beyond without ever losing its lustre.
To be able to leave such a legacy, a legacy that’s truly an inspiration or a constant life-encourager for those who come after us, firstly I think we have to be successful with our very own lives, and perhaps not only that but we need to finish well too. How else can we mentor, teach or become a good role model if we can’t achieve that, or at least for that matter, come close to it? For if you're not a good or worthy example, who will buy?
Further, memoirs and/or wisdom obtained from life lessons have to be written down (documented) if they are to be tapped or be of any use to anybody. So my advice is that if you have lessons or wisdom learnt from life experiences (thru’ successes or failures), don’t neglect to pen them down on paper and leave it as a legacy for who knows someday, someone such as your great-grandson or another might stumble over it and benefit from it.
You know, I think it’s not wrong to say generally that as parents we find it hard to reach out to our children (our next generation, the Gen Y, for they think they know all, right?). We have all the good advice gained from a lifetime of careful living to pass on but I don’t know why there appears to be no willing takers from that generation, very few anyway. I don't know about you but that's my experience.
It has been said and I quote, “Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.” I find that very true even today.
Somehow, I think we can communicate better with our grand-children than it is with our own children. They (our grandchildren) will listen more to us. And if you can live long enough to see great-grandchildren around you, the respect and interaction you’ll get I think is even better.
The story related in Adam Ginsberg’s book is exactly about a legacy of wisdom left behind by a highly successful self-made man for his unintended but beloved great-grandson. In the story, there seems to be a fated and an unbroken bond between them that’s not quite comprehensible.
That wisdom was written down in the form of letters packed inside a time capsule and stuffed in some old chest together with a heap of gold coins, jewels and other memorabilia. The benefactor willed that the box was to be opened on his 100th anniversary in front of all his beneficiaries and each was entitled to take an object which was right and had held the most meaning for their lives.
The time capsule containing the dead man’s letters, which no other beneficiary paid much attention to, fell by fate into the hands of his only beloved great-grandson.
And you know what, the old man’s letters effectively transformed the life of this young man. He arose almost suddenly in his lack-lustre career from being a nobody to a somebody in the market place.
We are told for quite a while he was down in the doldrums and like many in that time of their career caught up in the rat-race, didn’t quite know what to do with the rest of his life until the wisdom from his great-grandfather literally spoke to him.
The legacy-effect was phenomenal. Inspired by the old man’s wisdom, he didn’t take “no” for an answer anymore and followed up with a confidence and a zest, a Spirit-filled attitude that wasn’t there in the first place and this changed the whole course of his life. He went “up the organization” literally overnight! That’s how powerful the old man’s legacy was.
In conclusion, it would be my folly if I fail to share the gems of that wisdom gleaned from the legacy of this great-grandfather. There are altogether 9 of them. For keepsake, let me lay them out to you as follows. The truth as you can see in every one of them is timeless.
1. Do not believe in misconceptions.
2. If something is important to you, never quit.
3. Be the trendsetter.
4. Do not be hasty in saying no.
5. Have the fortitude to stay true to your beliefs.
6. Nurture your community.
7. Be specific in what you ask for.
8. Embrace all opportunities.
9. And above all, share the wealth.
Bravo! That's pretty good advice, don't you think?
It took me all-in just about 3 hours to read this book by Adam Ginsberg, although the duration was not in direct succession but more correct to say I did it in 3 breaks of roughly one-hour each. Thanks to Chris for sharing this book with me.
It of course took me about another 2-hours to pen this review (synopsis), with my thoughts added to it as a first draft and another hour or so more to refine it.
Someone did said, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” Indeed, I would agree with that. But if nobody writes or speaks, how can we be enriched, intellectually speaking?
Adam Ginsberg’s book is a easily readable book with only 11 short chapters (134 pages), a fiction nonetheless, although I wish the story was true. It contains marvellous wisdom condensed in a story format but that's realistic enough even for real life. Go get one and read it yourself and be blessed.
I shall leave you with this song. Click here to hear Alan Jackson sing the beautiful hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus". It's an oldie but still a goodie and I hope you'll like it.
Cheers!
