Leaving a Legacy

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When I first came to the States, I was very lucky to know Pat and Lou. They helped me tremendously during my first few years in the United States.

Lou was an extraordinary man, he was in his 80s when I met him in the early 1990s. Lou had taught at Stanford University, he also served as a Colonel in the US Air Force during World War II, Korea and Viet Nam. He was a great engineer and a successful business man. Lou devoted time and energy to mentoring and helping others throughout his life.

I asked Lou one day: "Why do you spend so much time helping me and other people you have never met before?” Lou smiled back: "I help you because, you have a good heart, you work hard and you are very smart,  I believe that you can be more successful with my help.  You will help others to become more successful because of your good heart. I will not live that long to see your success, but it will become my legacy whether I see it or not.” Indeed, he didn’t live that long to see all the successes from the people he helped, but I certainly credit my successes to his legacy. All the success from the people I help are part of Lou's legacy.

Many people like Lou help others unconditionally. I would like to share a poem written by another lady who lived her life fully and happily through her 90s. Her family printed this beautiful poem for her obituary.

Legacy

When I die, give what’s left to children,
If you need to cry, cry for others walking beside you.
Put your arm around anyone,
Give them what you need to give me.
I want to leave you with something
Something better than words and sounds,
Look for me in the people I have known and loved
If you cannot live without me,
Let me live on in your eyes,
Your mind and your acts of kindness
The body dies and love does not
So, when all what’s left is love, please give me away!

We all received a lot from people like Lou. Let's thank them during the holiday time. They helped us to build our success, let's help them to build their ever lasting legacy.

Elizabeth Xu

Comments

Unknown said…
Elizabeth,


I was touched by the story of Lou and your writing, thanks for sharing.


Yi
December 4, 2009 at 9:00 PM
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