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Your Story Is Their Inheritance

Why documenting your life may be the most powerful gift you leave behind

“When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” – African proverb

We spend our lives accumulating experiences, lessons, values, and insights — but how much of it do we pass on? Not the stuff — the stories. The moments. The decisions. The wisdom.

Your story is your legacy. And your family needs it more than you think.

Why Your Story Matters

We all come from a long line of stories, but too often they fade with time. Maybe your grandfather was a hard worker. Maybe your mother overcame something quietly heroic. Perhaps you have survived things your family doesn’t even know about.

When you document your story — even in bits and pieces — you create a bridge. A bridge between your past and their future. Between who you are and who they’re becoming.

And no, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Or polished. It just has to be yours.

What Your Family Will Miss If You Don’t

Without your voice, future generations may only have fragments:

• A photo with no context.

• A family name with no meaning.

• A vague sense that “Granddad was a good guy.”

But what if they could hear your words? Understand your decisions? Learn how you navigated heartbreak, failure, laughter, and faith?

What if they could know the real you?

That’s the kind of inheritance that lasts longer than money ever will.

How to Start Documenting Your Story (Without Getting Overwhelmed)

You don’t have to write a memoir or produce a documentary. Start simple:

• Record 10-minute voice memos, sharing key moments

• Write short stories from your life in a journal

• Use prompts like: “What’s the hardest decision I ever made?” or “What do I want my grandchildren to know about love, work, or faith?”

• Create a timeline of your life’s major turning points

The key is to start. Perfection is not required. But your presence is.

This Isn’t Just About You — It’s About Them

Somebody in your family will face something you’ve already faced. They’ll need wisdom. They’ll crave connection. And when they find your words — your story — it will be like finding a flashlight in the dark.

And maybe, just maybe, your voice will speak into a moment you’ll never live to see… but your wisdom will.

That’s legacy.

And that’s leaning toward wisdom.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:20 — 19.8MB)

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Are you overwhelmed, overloaded, and constantly feeling behind? You’re not alone. Let’s explore the anxiety that comes from having too many responsibilities, too many projects, and too little clarity. Okay, more precisely, I’ll share with you my recurring sense of overwhelm in hopes it can help you with yours.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:08 — 13.3MB)

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I know, I’ve been a dog on a bone with this. Some might say, “You’re beating a dead horse!” Maybe. And maybe that’s the method to my madness in the past few episodes.

Do you know about the dead horse theory?

It’s had a long-standing place in management lore. It goes like this, according to the Internet.

The “Dead Horse Theory” is a satirical metaphor that illustrates how some individuals, institutions, or nations handle obvious, unsolvable problems. Instead of accepting reality, they cling to justifying their actions.

The core idea is simple: if you realize you’re riding a dead horse, the most sensible thing to do is dismount and move on.

However, in practice, the opposite often happens. Instead of abandoning the dead horse, people take actions such as:

• Buying a new saddle for the horse.

• Improving the horse’s diet, despite it being dead.

• Changing the rider instead of addressing the real problem.

• Firing the horse caretaker and hiring someone new, hoping for a different outcome.

• Holding meetings to discuss ways to increase the dead horse’s speed.

• Creating committees or task forces to analyze the dead horse problem from every angle. These groups work for months, compile reports, and ultimately conclude the obvious: the horse is dead.

• Justifying efforts by comparing the horse to other similarly dead horses, concluding that the issue was a lack of training.

• Proposing training programs for the horse, which means increasing the budget.

• Redefining the concept of “dead” to convince themselves the horse still has potential.

The Lesson:

This theory highlights how many people and organizations prefer to deny reality, wasting time, resources, and effort on ineffective solutions instead of acknowledging the problem from the start and making smarter, more effective decisions.

Today, let’s aim it at ourselves. Personally. Professionally. I encourage you to take it personally. Make it personal. Apply it. Learn from it. And lean toward wisdom.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:36 — 19.0MB)

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No notes today. No excuse. I’m just lazy today.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:45 — 25.1MB)

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When we learn that our behavior and choices belong entirely to us and are independent of what others do, it’s the road less traveled to becoming a better person. Rare are the people who have made up their minds to behave like that, likely because it demands a willingness to suffer wrong and move on to do what’s right. No matter what.

Self-discipline is at the heart of enduring suffering, sacrificing, exercising grace and gratitude. All hard things!

Easier things are becoming bitter, harboring resentment, and embracing a victim mentality. Hatred. Retribution. Payback. Those are all easy and require no self-control.

However, as is often the case, ease can be damaging over the long term. It makes us worse. It wrecks us. Refusing to put in the hard work of temperance ultimately comes at a high price over time.

Discipline sometimes has no involvement with others. For instance, about 3 weeks ago, I began mainly eating carnivore. I did it solely for myself, to feel better. I also hope to drop some unwanted weight, but that was secondary. Nobody else influenced my decision. I’m not doing it for anybody else. Self-discipline helps me improve my health and overall well-being.

Another area of self-discipline is spending. Since January, I’ve had some planned purchases to elevate my game as a content creator. Late last year, I made some purchases for items I’ve come to need. Much of it involves unsexing things, such as a network-attached storage (NAS) system that allows me to store large video files easily. I invested in a 4-bay device (that means I can load up four large hard drives that will work in unison). It wasn’t cheap.

I also invested in some software and other tools necessary for my current role as a content creator, producing three different shows, including this one. I started this journey around 1999, so it’s not how I started. I wouldn’t recommend spending a lot of money to start producing online content. That phone you carry around every day will do the job. I recently encouraged a friend to use his phone and a $150 wireless microphone setup, along with a cheap selfie stick tripod device. It’s a great way to start and can likely serve you well for years to come. Twenty-five years ago, that was NOT the case, so through the years, I’ve invested a significant amount of money in this craft. Until last year, that was all audio, too. New flash: audio is way cheaper than video! 😀

Spending on anything can get out of control. It requires discipline to avoid spending, especially overspending. I’ve hit my limit – planned or otherwise. Okay, I’ve almost hit it. I’ve two items on my list that I still need to purchase, both of which are equipment-related. The most expensive of them is a computer hub so I can more efficiently connect everything to my computer instead of having three different smaller hubs. It’s a device that wasn’t previously available due to technological limitations.

After that, I’m intentionally hitting the PAUSE button on spending because I’m going into full-blown saving mode. I’m approaching this with intention, a plan, and self-discipline, just as I do with my diet.

Teddy Swims was on Q with Tom Powers, a CBC production. Here’s the YouTube link.

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