An opportunity for CARP members
to tell their story

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow and were asked, "What will your Legacy be?" Would you have an answer? Would you smile knowing your time here will continue to benefit other's lives?

What's a Legacy?
It's not just about money, or monuments, or memories. Legacy is something you enjoy creating 'now' that will continue to benefit the lives of others when you're gone.

Your Legacy is your footprint in the sand. Your Legacy proves you were here. It leaves a mark, large or small. And there's joy and energy in creating them, now.

Your Legacy can be anything you want it to be, large or small: flowering bushes planted up a country road; a written history of Dad, Mom or anyone else in the family that informs and entertains generations to come; an 'ethical will' telling of your values that family will read in a hundred years; a hospital wing; a charity you began; a park you helped build; an environment you created; skills you taught that continue to be passed on. Anything can be a Legacy if it continues to benefit others when you're gone.

Who doesn't want to be remembered? As Napoleon said: "Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."

When a person plants a seed, they may never sit under the tree's shade. But others will. That's Legacy.

We have an idea.
We want to collect stories of Legacy that will act as catalysts for every Canadian to dream of what their Legacy could be, and then create it. I believe each story will act as a catalyst for another person to create his or her own Legacy. This means the story of one of your Legacies (yes, you can have many!) will stir another person to create theirs.

Creating a Legacy, large or small, while young and healthy, adds energy, joy and focus to any life. And when each of us 'goes', there'll be a proud smile on our face as we know we're leaving a mark; 'I will affect lives for years to come'.

So, we'd like your stories:
Have you benefited from another's Legacy? And if the person who created it is still alive, are they enjoying it too, knowing it will still be there when they're gone? Are you creating a Legacy? Is it one you & others can enjoy now ... knowing that when you go, it will continue to affect others?

Selected Legacy stories may be used in our magazine, online, and perhaps in a new book or on TV. We will contact you for your permission.

Pioneer psychologist and philosopher William James said: "The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." We agree. And we believe Legacy stories from CARP members will cause a burst of creativity in several generations that want to leave the world a better place.

For More information on author Robb Lucy, visit, http://legacysmile.blogspot.com/