A distress call was made off the Channel Islands. The boat was taking on water. It wasn’t surprising, dad had just had the boat repaired for a cracked hull, for the third time. She had run the story in her mind a thousand times over the past three weeks. It was a defect they said. An old boat, a bad design, no warranty, and a boat manufacturer that had gone out of business. No one to blame.

The last call was made off Santa Rosa Island, twenty miles off the Santa Barbara coast. The boat and her parents were never found. Almost a month had passed, but the pain and grief were still there. Jeanne Victoria longed to see her parents again, but as she stood facing the slip that they always moored in when they visited Oceanside, she knew she would never see them alive in this world.

She had warned them that sailing in their eighties was a bad idea. Dad wasn’t as strong as he used to be. Mom had broken an arm once and it would certainly just be a matter of time till she broke a hip. But they wouldn’t stop. It’s what they did. They had a little house in Santa Barabara that had lived in for over fifty years, but their sailboat, the Sally Ann, was their love and joy.

Jeanne walked out on to one of the jetties and looked around. She imagined their old boat sailing in the harbor and pulling up to the slip. She imagined mom’s huge smile as she would wave to her only daughter. She imagined dad’s bearhug.

As Jeanne turned back to the sidewalk, the wind blew her hair into her face. It was a cold reminder of the grief she was still feeling. The estate was proceeding and she would soon have to deal with their Santa Barbara house and all their belongings. She was dreading that, fifty years in one house and all the accumulated things that went with it. She would have to deal with it all. Each piece of china, each nicknack with a heartstring attached. Jeanne was an only child and never married, so there would be no one else to help.

Jeanne turned and faced the sun as it dropped lower in the sky. She stared in the face of God and gave them up. “Welcome them home God,” she said softly under her breath. And then God whispered back . . . “Every time you see the ocean remember that they are with me.”

Jeanne smiled and knew that was true. She would always remember her parents and be reminded of them every time she would see the blue water. That was their legacy.

They had truly gone home . . .

Horace felt sad and helpless. His dad had passed away over a decade ago, and he had been left as the sole caretaker of his overbearing mom, Alice. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his mom, but her strict, overarching manner had pretty much ruled his life. He felt remorse as he looked at the slow-moving reflections of his puffy red face on the water in the sunlight. Yes, she had pretty much stolen his joy over the years. As an only child, she rued the day when someone would call her son anything else than his real name. There were no nicknames allowed in the Dillinger household. Horace was to be Horace, named after her grandfather Horace P. Carbunkle III.

The kids at school often made fun of his name, but he knew that his mom would have it no other way. One time his school chum Matt called him Ace within earshot of his mom. That was the last time Horace was allowed to play with him. She even marched down to the school and told his teacher and the principal that they were not to use nicknames with her son. Alice also told them in no uncertain terms that Horace would be an accountant. She wanted Horace placed in all the advanced math classes. Mathematics would be his salvation. Math was the modern way to prosperity, and by gum, he was going to be immersed.

Immersed he was. Through the sixties and seventies, he had accounting drilled into his head. After high school, he attended college with an accounting major. He did OK, but he really only had one problem. He hated math. But that didn’t sway his mother. She wanted her son’s name on the door of an accounting firm, and by God, he wasn’t going to be cheated. She got her wish when Horace turned forty. He had finally made it. He was now a partner at Schlessinger, Mayberry and Dillinger, public accountants.

Unfortunately, this job title came at a price. Alice saw to it that Horace divorce his wife, Sally. At 35, she was pulling him away from his career. It didn’t help that Horace and Sally lived next door to mom in a rented house. Sally became poison and Alice made sure that Horace knew it. For the last ten years, Horace lived alone in the tiny house next to his mother on the inland side of old Del Mar. He went to work and added things up. He came home and drank and smoked his sorrows away.

As he looked deeper into his reflection in the water, he reflected on his life. He was now forty-nine and a half years old. He was overweight, balding and totally out of shape. The cough from the cigarettes was bad. Two things had come in the mail yesterday, his mother’s death certificate and a strange white envelope. His mom had passed away two weeks before at age eighty. The funeral was pleasant, and she died a happy woman. Her life had been a success and why not. Her only son had his name on a door. He was a public accountant.

Horace looked up from the water and out across the marsh. He remembered vividly where the hangars used to be. His dad wasn’t home much. He was always working, fixing and doing something that Horace always longed to do. He flew airplanes. As a little boy, his dad would take him to the airport and let him sit in some of the planes. Unfortunately, when the 5 freeway came through to San Diego in 1959, the Del Mar Airport was decommissioned.

Horace reached into his back pocket and pulled out the thick envelope. As he opened it he laughed. It was the initiation letter from the AARP. At forty-nine and a half,  they were offering him all the benefits of being a senior citizen. He looked back down in the water and a feeling of despair came over him. His mom had become his whole life. Alice wasn’t there anymore to tell him what to do. Heck, would he even know what to do?

Now both his parents were gone. He was working a job he hated. He was out of shape, bored out of his mind, and now considered old. A senior citizen at 49, imagine that. What was there to live for? His life was a dead end, just like the bridge he was standing on.

For a second, he actually thought about taking his life.  His mom had never let him take swimming lessons. Don’t need those as an accountant. He’d just jump over the railing and drown. Then he looked a little closer and laughed again. The water in the river was only three feet deep. God, he couldn’t even kill himself.

That’s when a grey-haired old man with a big ol’ smile named Hank happened by. He stood by the railing next to Horace and said, “I remember the time when there was an airfield there. They used to have blimps in a massive hangar during the war. Long time ago, mid-forties. Can’t believe it’s gone. I used to hang out there. Bummed a few rides on some small craft over the years. I love to fly.”

Horace replied, “My dad used to work there. Maybe you heard of him. Norm Dillinger was his name.”

The man smiled. “Everyone knew Norm Dillinger. Most helpful guy in the place. Always talked about his son, Ace. Always bragging how he was going to the moon someday. You must be him?”

Horace shook his head, “He called me Ace?”

“Sure did. Said you loved to fly.”

Horace smiled, “I sure do.”

************

I met Ace Dillinger yesterday on that same bridge. He told me his story. Told me his life was like the dead end bridge we were standing on. It was a dead end until he found out his dad truly believed in him. Found out his dad called him Ace. Found out he could fly and he’s been flying ever since.

He had a model plane with him. Radio controlled. He launched it off the back of the bridge and we watched it soar in the sky. The plane had a camera on it and as he flew it high above, he showed me the screen. “This is where the hangar used to be,” he said. “And this bridge here is where my life changed twenty years ago. This is where I became Ace Dillinger.”

(Please note: This is a work of fiction.)

How will you make a difference in the world?

To help you think that far out and plan different outcomes, I created a simple Personal Legacy Worksheet.

It contains five sections. They are…

1. Who or What Do You Want To Impact?
This basically describes your tribe or sphere of influence. People or items that fit into your niche. This may be children, family, customers, contacts, users, followers, readers, viewers or other people that are impacted by you. In the worksheet, it’s helpful to be specific about people that you can truly help. Your goal may include animals or pets or possibly environmental items such as trees or plants. Be as specific as possible.

2. How Do You Want To Instill Change?
What will you do to instill changes and make a difference? For example, you may want to impact your children, by sending them to college. You may want to start a business, church or organization that will affect hundreds or thousands of people. You may want to plant trees, save pets, or clean up the environment. List the change you want to see.

3. What Will You Do/Create That Will Outlive Your Life?
Maybe you want to start a long-term savings plan for your children’s college fund. You might want to write a book, start a business, create an outreach. What you put here should continue on, even if you pass on. Financially you might include items like life insurance or annuities. For information items, you might include writing a book, creating a video, or outlining a song. Physical items may include things like building a house or school, planting trees or plants, or creating a new product, such as a computer or music player.

4. What Will Be The Results?
This is where you get to extrapolate the results of your plans and actions. 50 Years is a long time, and the multiplier effect of networking, leadership, and compound interest can lead to some spectacular results. This is where you get to dream a little. For inspiration, take a look at my previous post, that includes three examples of people who are truly making a difference.

5. What Action Steps Are Necessary To Make This A Reality?
This is where the rubber meets the road. Write down some milestones here. Just outline the main steps. You don’t need to get too specific, you’ll do that as you plan out your shorter-term items. Write them down by decade or by specific event.

Take a Few Minutes . . .
Fill out the sheets starting from the top and working your way to the bottom. Try to pick specific areas of interest if you can, and realize that technology and the world will certainly change over the years. Picking evergreen, people based goals will help.

When You Are Done…
Take a step back and visualize what you wrote down. This particular goal sheet will change over time, as your life evolves. I like to review this sheet at least once a year or at major milestones along the way. You can three hole punch this and keep it in your goal setting notebook.

Personal Examples…
I love starting with this 50-year sheet, as it really helps you see what is important in the world and how you can make a difference. It moves a lot of the personal goals down a notch, to the five or ten-year levels. In my life, I’ve been involved with a few legacy projects. When my dad died, his estate left some funds for a couple of projects. One was to plant 5,000 trees in Africa, where deforestation had ruined the land. My dad was always planting trees when he was alive, with over 30 in his backyard. Trees are a wonderful example of a legacy goal. In my dad’s project, the trees are now nine years old, and have completely changed the landscape and brought life back to a struggling community in Kenya.

My dad also had a love for kids, so some funds were set aside to build a small playground for children in Murrieta. Every time I drive past it, I can see my dad smiling, just like the kids who are using it. Both of these continue in my dad’s memory as a kind and caring person.

I have some friends at my old church that have built homes and a school for the needy in Mexico. They create them in the Church parking lot and take them by trailer to a remote farming community, inland from Ensenada in Baja California. These home will last for decades and provide housing and shelter to people who were literally living in cardboard boxes. Certainly changing the legacy of almost everyone involved.

It all starts with an idea…
Writing your ideas and dreams down is the first step to accomplishing them.

What amazing goal will you put on your worksheet?

To get the free worksheet, see my complete post here

http://personalsuccesstoday.com/personal-legacy-worksheet

John W Richardson is an author, speaker, and trainer. You can find numerous personal success downloads at Personal Success Today

My daughter works for a company that manages senior care communities throughout the western United States. I was talking with her a while back, and the subject came up of what happens when someone dies in the community, especially if the family or next of kin are far away. It turns out that things happen pretty quickly. The funeral arrangements are discussed with the family, along with the wishes of the deceased for burial or cremation.

If the family is unable to handle the affairs quickly, a company that specializes in estate sales is called to sell, donate and move all items in the room. These companies specialize in comforting the next of kin, by collecting special items, such as photos, albums, and small memorabilia from the room and putting them in a deluxe silver box. This box is then delivered to the family.

Your whole life in a silver box.

When I first heard this, I thought that that sounded pretty cool. A company that gets rid of the junk and organizes all the important treasures in your life into one beautiful box.

But then I thought about it…

If I live 70, 80 or 90 years and everything in my life is whittled down to a small box that will sit on someone’s shelf, I would feel cheated. Surely my life would mean more than that.

But that is what happens day after day all around the world. A funeral is given, people say their last respects, and everything else is dealt with. What is left is passed on to the family. The important stuff put in a box.

Memories slowly fade, and the box gathers dust.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Life In a Silver Box

For some reason, this whole concept made me upset. I’ve always been an outside the box kind of person. The thought of everything being so neat and clean and so final just didn’t sit well with me.

I don’t want my life to sit on the shelf forever and ever.

Then something occurred to me. Some people have been able to have an impact long after they are dead. It might be a book they have written, a movie they made, or a quote that lives forever in the minds of others.

Consider someone like Stephen Covey. Now that he has passed away, his book, The Seven Habits, still resonates with me, and I follow many of the concepts. Ideas live on.

I was listening to Frank Sinatra on Pandora earlier today. Ol’ blue eyes is still here with his orchestra, and his words and melodies still resonate. His music plays on.

I was looking at my Pinterest page and a simple quote caught my eye. Martin Luther King’s famous words, I Have a Dream, are stronger now than ever before. His words still motivate…

This all brought me to the realization, that we all need to create things that don’t fit neatly in a box. We need to capture them and pass them on.

It might be a poem

It might be a business

It might be a song that was sung.

We need to capture things that will truly…

Live on into eternity, enrich others, outlive our lives and create a lasting legacy.

Think of the lowly 100-watt incandescent light bulb. It hangs from a light fixture, with its single filament glowing brightly. The light goes in all directions, yet not very far. The filament burns bright and hot and consumes a lot of energy. The life expectancy of the bulb is limited, and eventually, the filament will burn out.

For years, I lived the incandescent lifestyle.

I worked hard but didn’t get very far

My life went in all directions; I had no focus.

My filament burned hot but started to dim after time.

I went to work every day, where I sweated and toiled while complaining that I couldn’t get ahead. I came home tired and exhausted, following whatever whim the day brought with it. I would try all sorts of things, but nothing seemed to move me ahead. Slowly I came to the realization that I was stuck. My bright view of life slowly dimmed. It wouldn’t be long until my filament burned out.

Does that sound like you?

I lived this lifestyle for years. I used a lot of energy, yet it got me nowhere.

All I could see were other people living a similar way. A bunch of individual light bulbs, some brighter than others, yet all just throwing their light in all directions. Every once in a while, a bulb would dim…

And then it would go out.

I would feel sad, burn a little brighter, but it didn’t matter. My unfocused light would only go so far. My illumination only lit up a limited area. My vision was limited by my light.

New Technology

Then one day it happened. I saw some of the bulbs being replaced with shiny new compact fluorescent units. At first, they looked really strange, but I quickly noticed they didn’t use as much energy. I decided I needed this new technology. So I replaced my incandescent life with a more modern CFL equivalent. Now I gave off just as much light as before, but I didn’t have to work so hard. I burned much cooler, and I was told I would live much longer.

Yet my light didn’t go any further.

My modern technology filled life just added complexity, and I noticed I was getting fat. In fact, most all of the CFL’s were bloated, overweight, and had trouble starting at times.

I had replaced my life of hard work, with one behind a desk. I didn’t use as much energy, but I ended up fat, bloated and I had trouble coming to work.

Yet my light was the same.

I made a lot of changes, but it really got me nowhere. Sure, I might live a little longer, but I was really no different.

Life went on this way for a long time.

In fact, it would have gone on this way forever, but one day I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn’t like what I saw. Here I was with all my modern technology, yet I had really just added a lot of complexity to make the same light as before. And it was getting me nowhere.

Reflection

But then I noticed something curious. When I looked in the mirror, some of my light was reflected. I moved closer and noticed that even more light was reflected. I suddenly realized this reflected light was going further than ever before.

It all started to make sense.

Instead of giving off light in all directions, this mirror was directing light in a concentrated fashion. The closer I got, the more concentrated it was.

I moved around, and I saw that I could determine where my light went. By moving close and setting myself in the right position I could suddenly light up things in the distance. I could now see farther than ever before. I could determine where my light went in the distance.

I started to see new things, new vistas, new destinations.

I wasn’t stuck in my old ways anymore.

My light stopped going everywhere. Now it was going somewhere.

All by looking in the mirror and focusing my light in one direction.

It simply meant examining myself and setting a focused goal.

Determining, once and for all, where my light would go.

Then I kissed the incandescent lifestyle away.

Now I was a spotlight.

Focused, reflected, and going further than ever before.

Paul, on the other hand, is a nice guy, but when I sit down with him, his life seems somewhat tragic. He has a reasonably good job, but he is caught up in a cycle of negativity. Things are always going bad on the job. Life’s not fair. It’s always someone else’s fault. Yet as rotten as things are, he doesn’t really want to change. Month after month things stay the same. I’ve often wondered why he doesn’t change jobs, but he continues slogging through his daily routine, frustrated with the status quo.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to figure out where these guys will be a year or two from now.

It really comes down to a simple fact…

Jeff has set some goals in writing, and is actively pursuing them.

Paul has no concrete goals and is somehow hoping that life will get better.

It’s really easy to see what the future holds…

It really comes down to the pictures below…

Jeff has created a succession of attainable goals, year after year, with ladder rungs spaced so he is able to climb them. Paul’s ladder has a broken rung. It’s not his fault, and certainly not fair, but he is stuck. He can’t go up, so he stays where he is, instead of fixing things or finding another ladder.

I’ve been on a ladder like Paul’s many times in my life. The broken rung is certainly an obstacle. Many times I’ve stayed way too long on a rung unable to climb further, because of pride or anger. It’s only when I’ve repaired the rung, or found a different ladder altogether that I’ve been able to move forward.

A dictionary definition of Success is listed as completing a worthwhile plan or goal.

While setting goals is the first step towards success, it’s not always clear sailing. To create a legacy of success, it’s helpful to look at some of the common pitfalls.

The Ladder to Success

 1. Multiple Goals: As we can see from the ladder on the left above, having multiple goals in the same area of life, at the same time, can quickly derail us. We can make initial progress, but soon competing demands will break the ladder apart. It’s best to say no to one and focus on the other. Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism, is a helpful guide on the subject.

2. Gap In Knowledge or Skills: Looking at the ladder on the right above, we can see a major goal that has gaps. These are usually spaces in our knowledge or skills and require that we learn something new or bring someone else in with the experience and knowledge that we need. The solution is to spend time and money on a solution or find a different ladder. Goals with huge gaps that are unattainable often lead to frustration and ultimately… failure.

3. Enjoy the Journey: While setting goals is a major key to success, it’s easy to get burnt or stressed out if we constantly focus on the top step all the time. The secret to goal setting, is to realize it is a journey and focus on one rung at a time. Breaking a large goal up into action steps and then focusing on that single step will free us to concentrate on a single task, and be able to successfully complete smaller milestones along the way.

Goal Setting Solutions

To set goals for yourself, you might find my goal setting toolkit to be helpful. You can easily plan out short and long term goals and keep them top of mind.

If you really want to create a legacy of success, I recommend Michael Hyatt’s extensive Best Year Ever Course. It might be easier than you think to turn things around. Especially after you watch his video outlining the 5 characteristics of those who get what they want.

Overall: Don’t let a broken rung, negative attitude or wobbly ladder stop you on your journey to success.

Check out Jeff’s website for some of his positive insights.

Am I making a difference?

As I get older, this question resonates more. I have more backstory, more experience, and more stuff in my garage.

I want to make a difference. I truly do. Yet, looking at the stuff in my garage, the entries in my calendar, and the log in my checkbook, I realize my intentions are good, yet the execution is not always what I want it to be. So much of my time and resources are wasted on trivial items.

I’ve found that there are three questions I need to ask when scheduling and taking on new tasks or projects.

1. Does This Match My Purpose?

Having a purpose and vision in life can help direct all your actions. It’s a good idea to clarify your purpose and vision and express them as simply as possible. Having a lofty mission statement, multiple sentences long, will just confuse you. Simplicity is the key. There are many books and workshops that can help you create purpose and vision statements.

Here are three that have been helpful for me…

1. The Story of Purpose by Joey Reiman
2. One Piece of Paper by Mike Figliuolo
3. The Purpose Economy by Aaron Hurst

Once you have your statements created, by simply asking the question, ‘Does this align with my purpose and vision?’ will allow you to move forward or reassess.

2. Is This Essential?

I’m a big fan of Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism. In the book, Greg asks a simple question. Is this essential? If not, he suggests that you say NO to it. Focusing on priority items is very important. Greg implies…

Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.

However, saying no, especially to yourself, can be very hard to do at times. Our minds tend to be attracted to shiny new things. Especially for creatives. I have suffered from the shiny object syndrome for years, especially with technology. The need to have the latest gadget, operating system, or upgrade is really hard to ignore. Just look at the lines outside of an Apple store after the release of a new product.

Greg offers some insights…

The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s not about getting less done. It’s about getting only the right things done. It’s about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’. It’s about regaining control of our own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit permission to choose for us.

I’ve found that asking three questions can help me clarify my answers

1. Is This an Impulse? Giving myself at least 24 hours to think about decisions helps cancel out impulsive choices.
2. Is This Truly Necessary? Is this a want or a need? Needs should take primary focus. Wants are secondary.
3. Is this the BEST option? Many times I’ve found myself settling for less that optimal outcomes. Holding out for best takes patience and fortitude at times, but is usually worth it in the long run.

Working on essential items and putting aside the rest will help us reach success faster. Saying no is not always easy, but it can be the difference between success and failure.

3. Is This Making an Impact?

This is where you measure the results of your actions. Simply, is the product you are buying, or the time you are spending making an impact?

There are three type of results…

1. Positive Impact
2. Negative Impact
3. No Impact

There are also three areas of impact.

1. Personal Impact: This affects you
2. Group Impact: This affects other people
3. World Impact: This has a global implications

The ideal answer is a positive impact that affects all areas. You can also move forward if the answer is just one area of impact and it doesn’t negatively affect any one of them. Many times you can multiply the impact with a few modifications…

Here is an example… You can go out for a run by yourself. This has a positive effect on your health. If you take a friend along, now you have doubled the positive effect and added group impact. If you both run to the store instead of taking a car, you have the added benefit of saving gasoline, and reducing pollution from using your car. .. a world benefit. As you can see, with a few simple mods you can greatly increase the impact of your actions.

Measuring impact can help you fine tune your actions for better results.

Overall: Asking three simple questions can help you truly make a difference!

My grandmother understood Charlie. She could talk to him, and understand him, just like I did. When I went to Momo’s house, I always took Charlie with me. The funny thing was, Charlie came alive at Momo’s house. We had wonderful conversations and adventures, which always included my grandmother. Charlie, Momo and I, played the organ, read books, and put puzzles together. Charlie had a prominent place on the top of the couch as Grandma and I would struggle to find just the right piece of the puzzle to complete the picture.

Over the years, Charlie stayed home more, but I still loved to go to Momo’s house. She was my rock. Momo always had time for me. She was always interested in what I was doing. And most importantly, she always prayed for me. I’m sure those prayers are what got me through my teenage years.

One day, when I was in college, it was decided that Momo would move from California back to Alabama, where she could live in a senior home that would take care of her. It was a sad day. That was the last time I ever saw my grandmother. I received a few cards and pictures from her but she died a few years later. My rock was gone.

Life went on for me. I finished college, got a job and married. But it wasn’t until I moved into my first house, that I discovered Charlie the Bear again. He had been put in a box. He was torn and tattered, with most of his stuffing missing, but holding him in my hand that day brought back all those early memories of Momo, me and him.

There is something about stuffed animals and Grandmas that just go together.

How to Outlive Your Life

I was reminded of that the other day while at a church. I was watching a presentation for our above 50 ministry, when the presenter went around the room and asked if anyone had a birthday during the month. One of the people that stood up was a woman named Alice who had turned 91. The pastor mentioned that Alice was still sewing stuffed animals by hand, and giving them out to little kids at church and in the community. She held up this amazing little stuffed white unicorn, with red stitching. Thoughts of Momo and Charlie roared back into my head.

I’ve often wondered about the legacies that we leave. I know this for sure. Those little stuffed animals will change so many tiny lives, year after year. Just like Charlie the Bear did for me.

Alice’s contribution to the community will live on for decades to come.

She will truly outlive her life.

In second grade I had a teacher named Mrs. Reyer. She was a great educator and had two special abilities that very few people have. The first was the ability to read minds. Somehow she could see all these ideas rolling around in our heads. With just a few questions, she was able to engage with the whole class. We would develop great conversations, and she was able to extract these ideas in a powerful way. She could get us to share what was inside, with everyone in the classroom.

Her other uncanny ability was to predict the future. One day we were talking about former presidents in class. She went around the room and had some of us stand up and share about the former leaders of our country. Most of the kids picked Washington or Lincoln, but when she came to me, I stood up and talked about John Adams. She was so encouraging. I can remember standing by my chair as straight up as I could and told about a president that had the same name that I did. I spoke loud and forcefully. Totally unlike my usual self. I talked about how Adams had been one of the architects of the Declaration of Independence and became our second president.

Life Changing Words

When I was done, Mrs. Reyer looked at me with a beaming smile. She said, “John, someday you’ll be a politician or a public speaker.” I’ll never forget those words. To a shy little kid, her statement resonated. All of a sudden, I realized I could share with others and that my ideas were important.

Mrs. Reyer changed my life.

Over the years, her words have come back to me many times. While I’ve never become a politician, I have found the love of public speaking. As part of a Toastmasters group for over 18 years, her comments propelled me on with hundreds of speeches and presentations. Now that I’m a trainer, those powerful words in the back of my mind always instill confidence.

I never saw Mrs. Reyer after elementary school, but her legacy lives on. I’m sure that many other students, along with me, carry on her tradition of engaging a conversation and sharing with others.

Her motivational words… Someday you’ll be… affected a lot of our lives.

They certainly have changed mine!