Lead Like Reagan: Strategies to Motivate, Communicate, and Inspire

7Changing the WorldLeaving a Lasting Legacy

Some may tell us that this is the end of an era. But what they overlook is that in America, every day is a new beginning, and every sunset is merely the latest milestone on a voyage that never ends. For this is the land that has never become, but is always in the act of becoming.

—Ronald Reagan¹

Lead Like Reagan is successfully achieved day in and day out in the trenches of life and business. Although each small step or decision along the way may not be remembered or seem monumental, when you look back upon the combined power and force of countless decisions, that is where you will find the evidence and the impact of your cumulative leadership.

Though you should not lead by looking back with regret or longing to events of the past, you should still learn from them, grow from them, and glean the elements of success from them. That said, you should not live in the future either, consumed with worry about what your legacy will be. You must live in the present, cherishing each and every moment. Yet it may be beneficial to pause periodically and think about how you will be remembered when you are no longer around. What will they remember about how you lived? About how you led? Is that the legacy you want to leave? If not, start today to lead—and live—in a way that will create the legacy of leadership that you desire.

In a post–presidential address on May 15, 1993, Ronald Reagan made the following remarks at the Citadel Commencement in ...