No, I haven’t had an in-person altercation with the great boxer Mike Tyson. But I did see a video of him telling a young interviewer that he doesn’t care about legacy, because, in his view, legacy is all about ego. I don’t know why I carried this with me for any longer than the 20 seconds it took me to watch the Instagram reel, but later in the day, I found myself disagreeing with his sentiment.
Being conscious of legacy doesn’t have to be all about ego. And not caring about legacy can just as easily be egotistical.
It’s selfish to not care. To not care what we leave behind for others after we are gone is to say; It doesn’t affect me anymore. It’s all yours now. Good luck.
After all, we can’t experience our legacy. Others experience it. So why not leave them something special? Something that they don’t have to clean up, but rather, can actually draw on to positively colour their experience of the world. Something to make their lives richer.
Surely that’s less egotistical. Or, at the very least, it’s closer to an act of kindness than not giving a damn.
And no, I wouldn’t say this to Tyson’s face.
The Thoughts of Others
- “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso
