More To That

Respect Is No Substitute for Love

The desire for praise takes us away from what really matters

“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
– William James

“Legacy is a stupid thing.”
– Bill Gates

The idea of leaving behind a legacy is a compelling one. It provides comfort against the burdensome knowledge that we will one day die, constructing an everlasting life that extends beyond the realm of physical existence. Names and accomplishments become surrogates for cells and organs, continuing to spread their impact in a world that the material body has long departed.

Culture is obsessed with this desire to leave some form of perpetual impact, whether it’s on the smaller scale (one’s children, grandchildren, etc.) or on the truly grandiose (millions of people, governments, etc.). Unsurprisingly, it became something that I once bought into as well. When my now wife, then girlfriend asked me what I wanted to make of life on our second or third date, I said that I wanted to leave behind a legacy.

Fortunately, we were much younger then, so that answer didn’t sound too obnoxious and wasn’t a significant cause for alarm.