Walter Lippmann the author and political commentator said, “The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in others the conviction and will to carry on.” ….. Ultimately, if your people can’t do it without you, you haven’t been successful in raising up other leaders.
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We have all heard that “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” I also believe that when the teacher is ready, the student appears. There are people in your world who would be thrilled to learn from you—not just the person who will succeed you in your leadership position, but people in every area of your life.
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The fact is, our instruction is a reflection of ourselves… our ethics and moral shortcomings, our knowledge, ignorance, our prejudices. We’re using martial arts training as a way to build better people.
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I believe the greatest legacy a leader can leave is having developed other leaders. Develop them as widely and as deeply as you can. I’ve spent more than forty six years practicing karate and over thirty five years teaching people from every walk of life. If you want to leave a legacy, invest in people, and encourage those you develop to pass on everything they learn from you to others who will do the same. People are what matter in this world—not money or fame or buildings or organizations or institutions. Only people.
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But carrying on a legacy from someone you have followed, someone you believed in, will this be important to you? Recently a senior instructor passed away. After classes on Saturday afternoon he would visit the dojo and sit with us to discuss anything and everything. In recent years his health began to fail and he would talk about passing on his dojo to us, to continue the association he had created with like-minded individuals. He wanted the legacy that he had followed, to continue and to grow with us.
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Unfortunately the legacy that was meant to be entrusted to us did not happen. But a legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people. We influence people every day by what we say and do, what we write, create and share, and all of that influence adds up.
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And when those people state they are continuing a legacy but no longer follow the principles set by that legacy, can you say you are still following it? No. Of course not.
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You should think about the legacy left to you everyday, because you are writing it every day…… “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” —William Shakespeare ??
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