The Legacy Question Every Influential Woman Should Ask
Discovering True Impact: How Women's Influence Shapes the Future Beyond Success
As I Celebrate My 80th Year...
As I celebrate my 80th year, I've discovered that the most important question we can ask ourselves isn't:
"How successful have I been?"
It's:
"Who is better because I was here?"
Recently, I've been thinking about the great American philanthropists—Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Julius Rosenwald, and others. History remembers them not simply because they amassed extraordinary wealth, but because they eventually chose to invest that wealth in people.
- Libraries
- Universities
- Hospitals
- Schools
- Foundations
They built institutions that continue changing lives more than a century later.
Today's billionaires are changing the world through technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, space exploration, and innovation. Their contributions are significant, and history will determine the enduring impact they have.
But their stories made me pause and ask a much more personal question.
What Legacy Are We Creating?
That question has nothing to do with billions of dollars. It has everything to do with influence.
As women, we often underestimate the power we have to shape the future.
- We mentor.
- We coach.
- We raise children.
- We build businesses.
- We serve on nonprofit boards.
- We volunteer.
- We encourage.
- We advocate.
We quietly open doors for other women to walk through. Those acts may never make headlines, yet they may be the most valuable investments we ever make.
One of the chapters in my book, From Woodstock to Wisdom... A Boomer's Journey to 80, explores the idea of giving back and making a difference. After eight decades of living, I've come to believe that purpose isn't something we discover once. It evolves throughout our lives.
Every season asks something different of us. In our twenties, we build. In our thirties and forties, we juggle careers, children, and responsibilities. In our fifties, we begin asking deeper questions about significance. By the time we reach our sixties, seventies, and eighties, we possess something that cannot be taught in a classroom: wisdom.
The question is:
What will we do with it?
The women in the Influential Women Network are already making a difference every day.
- Some lead organizations.
- Some are entrepreneurs.
- Some are innovators.
- Some are caregivers.
- Some are reinventing themselves after careers that no longer define them.
Every one of us has the opportunity to leave behind something far more valuable than a résumé.
- Confidence.
- Opportunity.
- Kindness.
- Mentorship.
- Hope.
- Purpose.
Long after our job titles disappear, people won't remember how many meetings we attended or how many awards sat on our shelves.
They will remember how we made them feel. How we believed in them. How we encouraged them. How we helped them become more than they thought they could be.
That is influence. That is leadership. That is legacy.
As I wrote in From Woodstock to Wisdom, the final chapters of our lives are not about slowing down—they are about showing up differently. Every stage of life gives us another opportunity to make a meaningful contribution.
Whether you are 35 or 85, your greatest legacy may not be what you accomplish.
It may be the lives you inspire.
I'd love to hear from you.
What legacy are you intentionally creating—not just for your family, but for the women who will follow in your footsteps?
Influence Is Temporary. Legacy Is Forever.
