Tag: legacy

A Favorite Professor and Leaving a Legacy (5-14-25)

This week is a one-off entry about one of my favorite college professors and leaving a legacy.

You never know when inspiration will hit.  I had to get my wallet to buy something online and when I opened it, I saw the small card that I have kept with me since I was a senior in college almost 20 years ago.  When I saw it, I smiled, and thought of Professor Skinner, one of my all-time-favorites professors who also happens to be retiring.  This card is from a personal mission statement she had us write in her class, and I’ve had it ever since.

When I think about my time in her class, there are so many things that come to mind.  She cares.  She cares deeply about her students and her goal has always been to help them become better humans.  She was always willing to push and challenge to help you realize your potential.  There is so much I learned from her about being curious, being strong enough to ask for help, and how to think about and develop my personal brand.  Whether it was during college or afterward, she always showed love, support, and challenged to me keep growing.  I am so lucky to have had her as a professor and mentor.

Now let’s make some connections to our topic this week.  Professor Skinner will go down as one of my favorite and most impactful professors I ever had.  I know many of her students that feel the same way.  What an incredible legacy to leave.  It has me thinking about the legacy that I’m building.  How will others feel when they look back at memories of us working together?  What will people say when I retire?  What lasting impact will I have on them?  If I could be a Professor Skinner for other people that would be a tremendous accomplishment in life.

The challenge: What will your legacy be?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Parenting and Enduring Lessons (7-31-24)

Last week was about parenting, leadership, and stepping beside someone.  This week is about parenting and enduring lessons.

We leave soon for a family trip. The other day I was talking to the kids about the trip and one of them said, “This time we slay monsters, not dragons.”  I chuckled.  They were referring to something I taught them about 2 years ago when we were preparing to go on a different big trip.  Rather than tell them that everything was going to be smooth sailing I told them that we were guaranteed to run into problems, and when we did, we would slay those dragons and move on.  Here’s the entry if you’re curious Vacation and Preparing for Dragons (10-5-22) – Striking Matches (home.blog).  Beginning tomorrow, we embark on another adventure.  Beginning tomorrow, we will be ready to slay some monsters.  I’ll make sure I save some for Van Helsing (bonus points if you get that bad joke).  (Pic is from Copilot “Create an image of an AI relaxing on vacation on a cruise ship)

What does this have to do with anything?  I never would have thought that something I said 2 years ago would stick with them like this.  I didn’t think it was anything super special at the time, just a funny way to talk about challenges.  It just goes to show the sticking power of the lessons you teach to others, whether you are intentional about teaching those lessons or not.  This all makes me curious about what other lessons I’m teaching them that sink in and will last for a long time.  It also has me wondering what lessons I’m leaving people I work with.

The challenge: What enduring lessons are you leaving behind?

Bonus 1: Reach out to someone who left an enduring message with you and tell them thanks (assuming it’s a positive one).

Bonus 2: Here is what I hope my enduring lessons are.  I hope I teach people it’s okay to show love at work.  I hope my colleagues remember that a little positivity and humor go a long way, especially when things are hard.  I hope people think of me and then remember to embrace their inner superhero 😉

Bonus 3: This is a parenting thing that works for my family.  I am often guilty of moving too fast and being in a rush.  My kids have some anxiety to begin with, so me rushing just makes everything worse.  To help with this, we created “Team Zero Hurry”.  My wife and I tell the kids that we are Team Zero Hurry while we are on vacation, and we are only allowed to be Team Fast if my wife and I say so.  Then, the second the kids get anxious about having to be somewhere, we just say, “We’re Team Zero Hurry.  We won’t be Team Fast unless X happens.  Has X happened?  No.  Let’s just take our time then.”  Then everyone calms down.  I know it sounds goofy, but it’s super effective.  It’s a great reminder to me to set the tone for the family.  It also makes things clear for the kids, because unless X happens we are taking it easy.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry