Welcome

“I’m Dave and this is the continuing story of my journey toward intentional living and leaving a legacy for my children. This year I published a book called The Intentional Legacy in which I shared some of my own stories. But the process of writing my book opened the door for an even bigger inquiry into issues of intentionality –one which involves some of the great stories of people who deeply care and are thinking strategically about their own connection to children and future generations. On this blog I will share a bit about my success, losses, struggles, victories, as well as the stories of others who are on a similar journey.

What is legacy? Here is my working definition: Legacy is far more than assets on a balance sheet. Legacy is not a job, or a credential, or a sum of money. It is our life message, the sum total of values and vision we leave to others. And the clearest expression of this is what we leave for our children.

In a real sense, our children are our life’s work.

Everything matters. There is no neutral area in our lives when it comes to legacy. But there are also no perfect families, parents, or legacies. We need purpose and we need grace. And we are never left hopeless. Redemption is real. Tragedy in crisis, rather than being the end of the story, is often the opportunity for rebirth. We can always reverse engineer our legacy and get it back on track. That’s what I did. My journey has been rather circuitous, as I’ll tell you about, but it is intentional.

It is my impression that there are few people qualified to call themselves a “legacy expert.” It’s like life after death. We can speculate all day, but until you get there, you’re not an expert.

I am a man of faith, but I am not a preacher and certainly not a theologian. I’m certainly not an expert on the subject of intentionality. I am simply a very human man, prone to mistakes, but who is passionate on the subject. My background as a businessman, an amateur athlete, bibliophile and most importantly, a husband and a father, all seem to compel me towards the inescapable conclusion that legacy is vital to my own life purpose.

My observations here, and my conclusions derive not only from my professional career in finance which I inherited from my father, but from deeply personal experiences which include failure and redemption.

So join me here, on my journey toward intentionality, and let’s share stories and ideas.