A New Decade Is About To Begin – What Will Be Your Legacy?

By Zoë Sparks
SHINE Business Women & Spectacular Events Pty Ltd

It’s been a little while since I’ve written a blog as sometimes life gets in the way – and that’s OK – but I’ve been thinking a lot about 2020 and how to streamline some of the things we do over the past few weeks, and knowing that a few people have been doing the same, I thought I’d share my musings.

I had the great fortune of meeting a lovely lady, Kathy McKenzie of FIREUP Coaching, in a seminar group a few months ago now. Kathy observed that some of us in the room (myself included) were juggling a number of businesses or projects, and suggested that often we can be a lot more productive and successful if we channelled everything into one area or zone, rather than trying to be ‘all things to all people’. I knew this would present a challenge for me, and not something I need to achieve right now based on my current roles in life, but it did get me thinking about streamlining and making my businesses work better for me, especially the ones that are in ‘start up’ mode.

Kathy gave me another impactful insight that day, which was to ask us to focus on what we wanted our legacy to be and how we can deliver that to the best of our ability, or words to that effect. Together with my own thoughts of how I can truly make a difference and in what areas, I made the decision only a few hours later that I would realise a lifelong personal goal of gaining a Masters degree at University, and I’m now half way through the first semester of my online Masters of Leadership at Deakin University.

It’s funny how powerful words can be sometimes, and Kathy’s words definitely made an impact on me that day. Further study at University was always on my radar, but that day it cemented itself as being important to me and would assist part of the legacy that I would leave behind, and I am thrilled to now have brought that goal to process and a reality that is happening right now.

Have you thought about the legacy you want to be remembered for? What lasting impression will you leave behind? What is important to you, and you alone? Often we box ourselves into what we ‘should’ be doing, delivering on the expectations of others rather than what is important to us.

Our purpose is also personal to us. It doesn’t need to keep others happy, it needs to make us happy and fulfilled. Some of us want to be of service, others want to invent or create; some of us want to lead, others wants to focus on giving our best effort to others. Again, it doesn’t matter what our purpose is, but make sure that it’s important to you, and makes you shine and excel in areas that you love.

So now’s the time to start thinking about what you want to focus on as we head into a new decade. Let’s make it count!

Zoë Sparks
SHINE Business Women & Spectacular Events Pty Ltd

Zoë Sparks has owned her award-winning travel, conference and event management company – Spectacular Events Pty Ltd – for the past twenty years. Her new division – SHINE Business Women – was launched in early 2018 and is already making a huge impact in the area of professional and personal development.

Recognised twice as a QLD Telstra ‘Business Woman of the Year’ finalist and also a winner of Sunshine Coast Outstanding Business Woman of the Year, Zoë has a proven track record for success and achievement. Zoë’s experience in small business is not only as a business owner but also as a franchisee, Board and committee member (companies and not-for-profit organisations) and volunteer.

Zoë is passionate about ‘women in business’ and reward and recognition which has led to her authoring three small business books sharing the tips and tricks she has learnt over the years. She also relishes her role as a mother to two teenage sons.