I once saw a poster that made a lasting impression. On it was written: Will it matter that I was?

Those words struck me like lightning bolts. I realized, after 40 years on this planet, I had never felt like I mattered…which explained the seemingly inexplicable angst I’d experienced my entire life.

That’s when I made a decision. I vowed to do something ‘important’ so I’d finally feel like I mattered.  And off I went.

I wrote a book, then several others. I appeared on national TV.  I spoke to large audiences. But no matter how loud the applause, it never drowned out my sense of insignificance.

Then I wrote Sacred Success, and everything changed. The women I interviewed for the book showed me the way to a more meaningful life.

Rather than focus on their fears and self-doubt (which they all had), they were living their life as if they already mattered…as if they had a God given purpose they were determined to fulfill.  Rather than striving to feel important themselves, they were seeking to make a difference for others.

When I asked one woman what drove her to such stratospheric success, her response echoed what almost everyone told me.

“It’s more than money,” she insisted. “It’s impact. I am motivated by leaving a legacy.”

As soon as I started asking myself: ‘What is the legacy I want to leave?’ I felt my focus radically shift.

I could finally acknowledge that I DO matter.  I always have. Not because of something great I’ve accomplished. But because I’m here for a reason—to leave my mark on the world, even if it’s only a tiny footprint in the sand.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.”

Have you considered the legacy you want to leave? Tell me about it in the comments below.