We can all be Uncle Kathys, S'dumos

This week, the nation was covered with a dark cloud as we laid to rest two individuals whose existence had a big impact on our lives: legendary actor Joe Mafela, famously known as S'dumo, and anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada, referred to as Uncle Kathy.

Both lived legacy-driven lives - legacies that will enable their impact to last way beyond their time.

When you see the extent of the nation's dedication to celebrate these icons, you are reminded of the magnitude of the impact you can have when choosing to live in a manner that leaves a good legacy.

We often make the mistake of not thinking about the legacies that we would like to leave behind.

We think this is something that truly exceptional individuals should focus on, or something to be prioritised once we are close to the end of our lives.

Even in business, a legacy-driven mindset is often a missed enabler for success because people want to wait until they are the CEO before they even think of their legacies. What is disappointing is that most CEOs are not even conscious of this when they reach that position, even though they have the privilege of designing not only their own legacies but also those of the organisations they lead.

The reality is that we are all destined to leave behind a legacy. This is the reason each of us has been endowed with a unique set of talents and life experiences - to enable us to have the kind of impact we were destined to have.

In all our day-to-day activities and interactions with others, we are presented with an opportunity to leave a legacy.

However, the problem is that we lack the proactivity required and instead end up leading our lives in a manner of default - as others have done before us - instead of living a life that we design according to the legacy we want to have.

This is something we need to change - especially if we are serious about unleashing the potential that lies within all of us - we are the very individuals who are responsible for taking this economy to the next level.

I often hear people claim that the reason they are not living their chosen legacy is that they have not yet discovered what their legacy will be. This is just an excuse - since you can always start by looking at where you are now.

We all have a certain subset of activities that, when we do them well, make us feel most alive, energised and impactful. These are often the activities that we find worthy of waking up for in the morning.

These are the activities where we find ourselves being most influential on others around us - their impact goes beyond ourselves. They are a good starting point in the process of clarifying what your chosen legacy could be.

These legacy activities do not need to be cast in stone and can evolve with time, because we evolve as individuals as we grow from life's experiences.

This evolution of your chosen legacy is a natural part of the process and should not be used as another excuse to hold off living a legacy-driven life, proposing to start doing so only once you have obtained wisdom from your more mature future self.

What you have already learnttoday is enough of a starting point. Otherwise you risk wasting a whole lifetime that could have been well spent on an impactful legacy.

Stephen R Covey, the author and businessman, is known for his quote: "Live, love, laugh, leave a legacy." He is another example of a person whose impactful insights in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People continue to transform individuals and businesses way past his time.

Recently laying to rest Mafela and Kathrada should be a wake-up call to all of us on the kind of impact we can have on the world when we choose to live a legacy-driven life.

My chosen legacy is to help businesses and individuals unleash their growth potential.

This translates into how I spend my time each day.

We should all challenge ourselves to define what our legacies need to be - and also be honest with ourselves about whether the activities we engage in each day are empowering us to achieve that legacy.

zipho@ziphosikhakhane.com

Sikhakhane is an international speaker, business executive and investor, with a business honours degree from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from Stanford University