Legacy vs. Resume: The 10-Year Perspective

Entrepreneurship has a way of shrinking time.

Weeks blur into deadlines. Months are measured in metrics. Life gets organised around launches, targets, and what needs to be done next.

Before you realise it, you’re living inside the weekly sprint.

Busy. Productive. Moving forward — but rarely stepping back.

And yet, the most meaningful questions in life can’t be answered from inside a sprint. They require distance. Perspective. Time.

A Different Way to Measure a Life

I recently tried a simple exercise.

I imagined myself ten years from now, sitting quietly, looking back at the version of me that exists today.

Not judging. Just observing.

What would that future version thank me for?

What would he wish I’d done differently?

What would matter — and what would feel strangely irrelevant?

It was confronting how little of it had anything to do with achievements.

The Letter You Rarely Write

If I were to write a letter to myself ten years from now, it wouldn’t be filled with goals or milestones.

It would ask quieter questions.

Did you stay curious?

Did you protect your health?

Did you make time for people when it mattered?

Did you choose presence over pressure when you had the chance?

Did you live in a way that felt aligned — not just impressive?

Resume Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues

There’s a concept that draws a clear distinction between two ways of measuring a life.

Resume virtues are the things we list: Skills. Titles. Businesses built. Money made. Problems solved.

They’re not unimportant — but they’re incomplete.

Eulogy virtues are different. Character. Integrity. Kindness. The way people felt around you. The way you showed up when no one was watching.

Most people spend their lives optimising the first list and assume the second will take care of itself.

It rarely does.

The Trap of the Weekly Sprint

Entrepreneurs are particularly vulnerable to this imbalance.

When you’re constantly focused on growth, efficiency, and results, it’s easy to postpone the deeper work of living well.

You tell yourself,

I’ll slow down later.

I’ll be more present when things settle.

I’ll focus on relationships once the business is stable.

But later has a way of moving further away.

The danger isn’t failure. The danger is success that costs more than it gives.

Looking Ahead Instead of Keeping Up

The 10-year perspective changes how decisions feel.

Some things that seem urgent today lose their power. Some things you’ve been neglecting suddenly feel non-negotiable.

You start asking better questions:

Is this building the life I want — or just filling the calendar?

Am I becoming someone I respect?

Would I be proud of how I’m spending my attention?

When you zoom out far enough, alignment matters more than acceleration.

What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

Imagine a landmark birthday. Not a career highlight — a life moment.

What would you want people to say about you then?

Not what you achieved.

But how you lived.

Were you generous with your time?

Did you listen?

Did you stay grounded as things grew?

Did you make people feel safe, seen, and valued?

Those answers rarely come from working harder. They come from choosing more intentionally.

A Quiet Reframe Worth Sitting With

Here’s a simple reframe that’s worth returning to often.

Your resume may open doors. Your legacy is what remains when you’re no longer walking through them.

One is built through effort. The other is built through presence.

Both matter — but only one endures.

Stepping Out of the Sprint

The weekly sprint will always be there.

There will always be something to chase, fix, or optimise.

But every so often, it’s worth stepping back far enough to ask:

If ten years pass quietly and inevitably…Will I be glad I lived this way?

Legacy isn’t something you build at the end of life. It’s something you practice daily — in small, often invisible choices.

And the good news is, it doesn’t require doing more.

Just seeing further.