Maya Angelou: Famous Last Words
“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.”
We often think of legacy as something we leave behind when we’re gone. A plaque. A portfolio. Money or a family name.
But what if legacy isn’t about what we leave, it’s about how we live?
Leave a Legacy That Can’t Be Erased
“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” (Maya Angelou)
That line lives in me.
It reminds me that our legacy doesn’t begin when we’re gone, it begins the moment we choose to show up fully. With presence. With truth. With heart.
In our death-phobic world, we’re taught to delay the conversation about legacy. Taught to believe it’s something we think about later, when we’re older, closer to the end.
But what if legacy isn’t something we leave behind?
What if it’s something we live?
Maya Angelou didn’t just speak about purpose. She became it.
Born in 1928, she survived trauma, racism, and years of imposed silence. She danced. She sang. She wrote. She marched. She spoke poetry to presidents and walked alongside giants like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. But none of that was her legacy.
Her legacy was how she made people feel. What she awakened in others. The space she gave us to be more ourselves.
The Kind of Mark That Lasts
I used to think legacy was something you built through big moves. Financial success. Awards. Something grand.
But now I see it differently. Legacy is quieter than that. Slower. Softer. It’s how your energy lingers in a room. It’s the ripple of one honest conversation. It’s the way someone remembers you years from now, not because of what you did, but how you made them feel in your presence.
Maya didn’t leave behind wealth. She left behind permission, for others to rise. To speak. To soften and stand tall at the same time.
That’s the kind of mark I want to leave. Not in stone. But in souls.
Death as a Creative Prompt
Thinking about legacy might sound like a weighty, end-of-life thing. But what if it’s actually the most enlivening question we could ask?
Because death has a way of sharpening things. It helps us see what’s real and what’s just noise. It invites us to live like our days are sacred, because they are.
What we do with that invitation is up to us.
Some of the most powerful work I’ve seen comes from people who’ve turned their pain into something beautiful. Art. Advocacy. Healing. Presence. That’s legacy too.
If you’re someone who feels things deeply, if you’re building something slowly, or dreaming of something quietly, I want to remind you: your presence already matters. Your voice already leaves a mark.
You don’t need to change the whole world. Just your corner of it.
What Are You Leaving Behind?
When my kids ask for my attention. When I write these words. When I decide how to show up in hard moments, these are the moments I’m starting to see as my legacy.
Not later. Now.
And lately I’ve been asking myself: What will my children remember about how I showed up? What does my work really stand for? When I’m gone, what energy will linger?
Legacy isn’t found in a will. It’s found in the will to live well, moment by moment, choice by choice.
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)
That line is a gentle nudge to live with care.
What would it look like to live this week as if your legacy has already begun? Not to prove anything. Just to honour what’s already here.
Please find a Legacy Exercise attached at the end of this letter.
How did this newsletter land? Please drop comments below and if this resonated, forward it on to someone who’s quietly shaping the world with love.
Let’s make something that lasts, not in marble, but in meaning.
Live Happy,
Hoppy
Live Zoom Call, Thursday October 30th @ 5pm UK time
I’m excited to invite all subscribers to join our first Community Zoom call. This will be our first chance to gather live, share reflections, ask questions, and deepen connection.
This whole project is brand new, so for this first call the door is open to all subscribers. I’ll send the Zoom link and agenda closer to the date, keep an eye on your inbox.
Hope to see you there!
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Want to go deeper? Read these newsletters:
Abraham Lincoln: Famous Last Words
The Fear Of Death And What It's Really Telling Us
Transformation Exercise
Find the Legacy Exercise below (this exercise will also live in Tools):
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