Another contribution that can outlive you is your role in politics and social activism. Leadership is needed in our world now as never before.

Gandhi became immortal through guiding India to freedom from British rule.

Churchill became immortal for inspiring the British people to courage during World War II.

Martin Luther King made his name in the non-violent fight for civil rights.

What causes will you champion? It is no longer enough for us to leave the mantel of leadership in our societies to others.

People like Al Gore have shown that we can sometimes have great influence by merely calling people’s attention to a problem in need of solution.

Nelson Mandela showed us moral courage in the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Whether your leadership role is formal or informal, we are all called to politics in one form or another, for politics determines the policies by which our nations and our world will be led. And our participation or apathy will outlive us in determining what kind of a world we leave behind for our children.

Living a life that will outlive you means that you must leave something behind that will have some form of societal impact.

It means doing something, creating something, and sharing something that inspires, enables, liberates, and stimulates other people to move to a better place.

This can be done on a small or large scale. It can impact the lives of a few people or the lives of millions, if not billions, of people. It may influence a family, a community, a company, a country, or the world.

You can choose to do it through sharing profound knowledge and philosophy, through generating works of art, through creating organizations of enduring value, or through political activity and the championing of worthy causes.

Each will outlive you. Each can change history, whether for a few people or for many.