A long-lasting legacy is more than the property we leave behind. It’s about the influence and impact we leave on others. Your unique legacy is how you’ll be remembered. What are your values? What examples do you set? How do you make people feel?
Your legacy is your story, and a successful legacy transcends time.
In this article, we explore powerful legacy quotes that reflect how we leave our mark on the world. From famous athletes and authors to scholars and leaders, these phrases paint a picture of what a great legacy is. Get inspired, and see how they can help you build your own.
Start building your legacy today—download our FREE goal-setting e-book to clarify your purpose, take meaningful action, and leave a lasting impact.
Quotes on Leaving a Legacy That Makes a Difference
What type of legacy do you want to leave? The quotes below might inspire and motivate you to build your own legacy, one that is meaningful to you and makes a difference to all those that you leave behind. Learn from these historic figures and modern-day heroes.
- “But here’s the thing about legacy: it’s about more than wealth or accomplishments. It’s about ensuring that the path you’ve walked continues to inspire and guide others in the future.” —Dr. Margaretha Montagu
- “I believe how you make your mark is being true to who you are and letting that be your staple.” —Kat Graham
- “All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine.” —Jim Rohn
- “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” —William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well
- “I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, ‘I love you.’ I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I’ve done my job in a world that’s getting colder and colder by the day.” —Lionel Richie
- “One thing is certain, if we merge mercy with might and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright.” —Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb”
- “I believe that the time to start thinking about your legacy is not at the end but at the beginning, because as I said, that’s when you’re able to do something about it.” —Mike Matheny, The Matheny Manifesto
- “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” —Albert Einstein
- “She said this and I leave this with everyone in the room, graduates, friends of graduates, family. She said, ‘Your legacy is every life you’ve touched.’ Your legacy is every life you’ve touched. Feel everything with love, because every moment you are building your legacy.” —Oprah Winfrey about Maya Angelou
- It’s essential to keep moving, learning and evolving for as you’re here and this world keeps spinning.” —Rasheed Ogunlaru
- “At the end of the day, we’re not remembered for what we do, but by the people that we impact.” —Doug Smith
- “All the past up to a moment ago is your legacy. You have a right to it.” — Robert Henri, The Art Spirit
Inspirational ‘Leaving a Legacy’ Quotes for a Lasting Impact
What do you stand for now that people will remember long after you’ve gone? Leaving a legacy matters. It can positively impact everyone we leave behind. The inspirational legacy quotes below offer insight into the opinions of great minds.
- “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” —Shannon L. Alder
- “The greatest legacy you can pass on to your children and grandchildren is not your money or the other material things you have accumulated in life. The greatest legacy you can pass on to them is the legacy of your character and your faith.” —Billy Graham
- “The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one, choose no successor and leave no legacy.” —Myles Munroe, The Mystique of Leadership
- “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.” —William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
- “You’re nothing if you’re not the truth.” —Oprah Winfrey
- “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” —Ernest Hemingway
- “Leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself.” —Winston Churchill
- “I’m proud of my father, but my pride cannot be fully measured by that snapshot in history. Because contrary to first glance, my father’s legacy comes not from his presiding over the final act in the drama of fighting for equal rights – his legacy is about setting the stage.” —Martin Luther King III
- “Those who know me know I’m passionate about lists, and top of my list of priorities is my family. My wife Joan and I do not consider our legacy to our children to be wealth or fame but the opportunity to pursue happiness by following their own path.” —Richard Branson
- “My legacy would be that you don’t have to give up anything. You can be chic but have a sense of humor, you can be sexy but comfortable, you can be timeless but fresh.” —Michael Kors
Legacy starts with a vision—download our FREE goal-setting e-book to map out the goals that reflect your values and create the legacy you want to leave behind.
Quotes on Building a Successful Legacy
Entrepreneurs and leaders have the unique opportunity to leave legacies with their businesses and organizations. If you’re wondering how to build a successful legacy, these quotes might get you started on your journey. Below, you’ll find leadership legacy quotes to inspire action today.
- “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.” —Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
- “The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” —William James
- “That’s what building a body of work is all about. It’s about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the choices large and small that add up over time, over a lifetime to a lasting legacy. It’s about not being satisfied with the latest achievement, the latest gold star, because the one thing I know about a body of work is that it’s never finished. It’s cumulative; it deepens and expands with each day you give your best… You may have setbacks and you may have failures, but you’re not done. You’re not even getting started.” —Barack Obama
- “The greatest act of leadership is what happens in your absence. If everything you’ve done died with you, you are a failure. True leadership is measured by what happens after you die.” —Myles Munroe
- “Make a difference, change the game for the better, leave a legacy, be a guide that someone else can follow and make better, and then someone else will follow that and make that better.”―Carlos Wallace, The Other 99 T. Y. M. E. S.
- “Be remembered for things that matter.”―Frank Sonnenberg, The Path to a Meaningful Life
- “The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when nobody else is watching.” —Anson Dorrance to Mia Hamm
- Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch
- “It’s about doing something extra, not just winning.” — Xavi Hernández
- “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” —John Maxwell
- “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela
Related: Inspiring Quotes About Never Giving Up
Short Sayings About the Legacy We Leave Behind
Think about your own legacy and why it matters. The short legacy quotes below may be brief, but they ring true. You are in charge of your legacy. What story do you want to tell? Use these original legacy quotes from the SUCCESS® team to inspire you today.
● “Your legacy is woven into your everyday moments.”
● “Stand for what you believe in, always. You’ll be remembered for it.”
● “Start today. Make your mark on the world.”
● “Do the right thing, day after day.”
● “Start shaping the story you want them to tell.”
Start Building Your Legacy Today
A legacy isn’t built in a day. It’s shaped daily in your actions, opinions and values. Most importantly, it’s created in the lives that you touch. These “building a legacy” quotes offer inspiration to start thinking about what type of legacy you wish to leave behind. Let these powerful words motivate you to start shaping your own story today.
Photo from Shutterstock.com
