Legacy

Call it getting older, but the past 4 years of my life have left me thinking a lot about legacy [a gift; anything passed down from a predecessor].

It is easy to look at someone's legacy at the end of their life, but what about your legacy right NOW! Who are you impacting today? We need not be old or dead to leave a legacy.

I have seen that recently in Pam's work through FXB. For the past year, she has been the owner/operator of our location. While we just met a few short months ago and only recently did I get to know her better, I have been able to learn a lot from watching her at the gym and as she interacts with others.
What may take some a lifetime, Pam has done in a single year and I know it will continue - she has left a legacy.

The important thing to know about legacy is that it is not tied to a specific position or status, it isn't tied to your income or financial pull - certainly these things may mean you have more influence, but we ALL have influence - positive or negative. Legacy though is seen in how those who come after you continue on when you're not around. For parents, it's how your children live when they leave home or for teachers it's how your students do when they've been promoted to the next grade or in a job it is how your subordinates/coworkers perform when you take a new position.
 

 Here are a few things you must possess that I learned from Pam about leaving a legacy:

- Must be solid as a rock
 Wow - as a business owner, wife, mother, friend and fitness instructor - Pam has proven to be a pillar of strength and stability. She moved to a completely new city alone and built a business community from the ground up. A leader does this by exemplifying competence, building connections and exhibiting strength of character. She has been tough and dependable.

- Must be a servant leader
Not all leaders are also servant leaders. A servant leader seeks to help those around them, not just manage them or tell them what to do.  A servant leader holds others above themselves. Certainly, this is a fitness center geared to helping people transform their lives through fitness and nutrition; however, it is not just a person's position in the fitness industry that helps others, but rather what they do to serve others in the hard times, through the dirty jobs, the inconvenient times and even the times when no one else is looking. A servant leader gives until it hurts.

- Must have compassion  and be willing to be vulnerable
Pam is tough and strong, but she is also compassionate. She cares! She is an amazing listener (trust me, I notice this because I am a talker!) and has helped many people get to their core issues. I had a small epiphany a few months ago that in order to be HEALTHY, you first have to HEAL. Pam also has shown that she cares enough to be tough and sometimes say the things that are hard to hear, but MUST be said. It not only takes guts, but vulnerability to put yourself out there like that. I believe that being vulnerable is one of the best ways you can connect to others and it is connections that build community. Ask anyone at FXB what the difference is between this fitness center and other gyms - I bet that most would attribute their success and consistence to the community.

- Must lead by example
Pam walks the walks and people do what they see. I used to hear a lot that more is caught (seen) than taught (heard). You can receive a book and gain knowledge, but seeing a living example helps people gain confidence in the process. There can be a lot of emotion tied to our body image, nutritional habits, belief in our physical abilities - so it's important to have a stable example amidst the potential roller coaster of emotions. Pam has not only lead our workouts, but attends them and works hard! She follows the nutrition program and can give good advice because of that. If you're going to leave a legacy people must see you in action with NO EXCUSES.

- Must lead other leaders
A community may start with the influence of one person but it will not grow with one person alone. When a person is a leader of leaders, then a legacy is passed on. To lead others well, you must help them reach their potential. When it was first announced that the new instructor training was coming up, I had the desire to attend, but had concern that I wasn't good enough yet. Pam breathed belief into me and encouraged me to attend. It was like her ears were tuned out to all the reasons excuses I had for why I couldn't/shouldn't yet. The proof of this at FXB is that the most recent session of new members had the greatest results thus far. The current session had the largest enrollment ever at this location. That kind of growth and results can be traced to the past members results which can be traced to strength of the coaches and instructors which all comes back to our leader.


Since learning a few weeks ago that Pam was going to be leaving, many of us have been sad and have known that it just won't be the same without her. When faced in life with these types of situations, we can respond in many different ways. We can get angry. We can get sad. We can even give up. OR we can press on.

I believe that the greatest gift we can give those who have poured into our lives is to carry on all that they have taught us and to pass it on to someone else. A legacy leader creates other legacy leaders.

So, Pam, we will miss you, but we will carry on! We will share the strength, determination, compassion, vulnerability, generosity, fight and so much more with those who are yet to come. Be blessed, friend.

We are STILL doing this and SO CAN you! Make it a Legacy Level 10 day!