What better way to conclude the first series of ‘Inspirational Women’ blogs than by asking an expert to talk about inspiration and the legacy that each of us creates during a lifetime. Meet Brooke Alexander, creator of The Legacy Project, professional speaker, advisor and pretty much one of the smartest people I know, and hey she’s a bush gal so she’s done the whole working remotely thing, as well as doing her fair share working on the run. And guess what, Brooke just happens to be my sister. 

“For as long as I can remember I have been plagued by the art of asking questions.  Growing up in rural Australia was a carnival for a kid like me. Whilst my city counterparts had their local playground to meet and make new friends, my playground was the dust and the dirt and the people who worked it. As any country person will tell you the bush is filled with people from all walks of life and each one of them has a story to share.

 From the Shearers Cook to the new Jackeroo, the contract Musterers and Station Hands I never stopped asking questions. I would ask questions about them, their story and why they did certain things in a certain way. I was always trying to learn, always searching to find out more, always looking for an answer to why. As a professional conference speaker and advisor my search for answers has become my career. I now ask questions for a living and in return offer my researched answers and replies as a framework by which individuals can live with greater meaning and purpose and organisations can work towards creating value for all stakeholders for the highest good of all.

 Behind all that I do is the concept of legacy. What it is and how we can live our lives through it. Many people don’t understand the true essence of legacy and the power it has over our lives. When you consider the impact of your actions, behaviour and conversations from a legacy perspective your whole outlook on life changes. As the character Maximus declares in the movie Gladiator ‘what we do in this life echoes in eternity’.

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 All our actions have consequences. From the way a Mother and Father guide and parent their children to how a Manager treats their staff. Many people are acutely aware of the affects of their behaviour towards others, yet far to few ever really consider the ultimate consequence of their conduct.

 Science has now proven that behaviour has a biological affect on both our children and us. In the field of epigenetic research it appears that environmental conditions, such as stress, nutrition and the environment can have a hand in how our DNA behaves and how it behaves in our children, even if they haven’t yet been conceived.

 What if your decision today to smoke a cigarette or eat another bag of chips didn’t just affect your health, but also your child’s health? Take that a step further. What if your lifestyle choices affected their children’s health – and then the next generation and even the next? As it turns out, there may be much more to our everyday choices than we realize. 

Whilst many people already understand the accumulative affects of positive and negative forces on our own being, there are unfortunately many more who remain vastly ignorant to the impacts these have – not just on us personally, but environmentally, culturally, politically and socially as a whole. There is a clear consensus that the world emerging before us will be vastly different from anything we have ever known in the past and that it will be a difference not of degree but of kind with no prior period of change in history that remotely resembles what humanity is about to experience.

 Brooke AlexanderFrom advances in technology and the rise of new global powers, to the digital and biotech revolutions, the exhaustion of our resources and the rapid emergence of a global consciousness it’s clear that our current world has transcended its borders. I believe in order to navigate this changing landscape and protect the intrinsic values of human nature we need a new framework for how we live, love, parent and leave a legacy.

 The Legacy Project is a manifesto, which gives reverence to history and seeks to preserve the future. It offers direction at a time of unrivalled global change and is specifically designed to empower us individually and collectively so that we each become aware of our own thoughts, words, actions and deeds that shape our lives and the lives of generations to come. In the traditional sense every one of us is a Legacy Project in action. Every person, every family, every business – any worthwhile pursuit is in fact a Legacy Project. Each inspiring woman who has taken the time to share her life and work on Nicole’s blog are powerful examples of legacy projects in action. Each, through her choices works towards a reason bigger than herself. And that’s what I believe living your legacy is all about.

 As a reader and admirer of stories I invite you to consider the most powerful story of all – your, Legacy Project.

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