Leaving a Breadcrumb Legacy with Jann Freed

“Instead of legacy, think about impact,” explains Jann Freed, PhD. Jann is a leadership development and change management consultant with the Genesis group, as well as an author of several books including Living Your Best Life. Today, she talks about leaving a breadcrumb legacy.

Many people mistakenly think legacies are something that people create at the end of something, like after death or after retirement. In truth, you are leaving breadcrumbs of your legacy all the time. You do not have to wait until you’re older to think about what kind of legacy you want to leave. Everyone, regardless of fame or fortune, leaves a legacy of some kind, both good and bad. Start to think about the vision you have for your future, what you want to be known for, and what impact you’d like to have on others. When you have a clear vision, you can be more intentional about leaving behind small pieces of your legacy with each action.

If you are in a leadership role, you likely leave breadcrumbs of your legacy every day without even realizing it. Everyone leaves behind a legacy in the end, so it is best to start thinking about it early on in order to ensure you are leaving behind one you can be proud of.

• “If you have a vision and you have a plan, then it's easier to let go.” (15:27-15:31 | Jann)
• “It's important to surround yourself with people that compliment you so that you really do build a team.” (18:00-18:07 | Jann)
• “We need to be thinking about our legacy all the time because we are leaving it all the time.” (19:53-19:58 | Jann)
• “Instead of legacy, think about impact. What kind of impact am I having on others? And why wouldn't you want to think about leaving a very intentional impact, rather than just being careless?” (21:44-21:57 | Jann)
• “You can't be defensive, you have to be open to feedback, and you have to want to get better.” (30:19-30:24 | Jann)
• “All the research says that when somebody is on their deathbed, they're not thinking about all their accomplishments. They're not thinking about everything they've done, but they're really thinking about did my life matter? Did I make a difference? And that's what legacy is all about.” (42:25-42:40 | Jann)