News

What legacy will you leave?

ATMIA President Tom Harper considers what matters most in life: that which satisfies oneself, or that which benefits others?

February 22, 2005

We all want to make our mark. This world is filled with buildings named after people, autographed tree trunks and hands imprinted in once-wet cement.

Millions of books and articles are published every year by authors striving for recognition. Companies bear the names of their founders. Politicians pass bills to add their names to history.

How will you leave your mark? What legacy of yours will remain when you leave this Earth?

In Halftime, a "mid-life" book written by Bob Buford, we read that life isn't all about success. At a mid-way point in our lives, we ask, "How much is enough?"

The questions I wrestle with help me define my life's mission. How much money do I need to make? How many ATMs do I want to deploy? Does that last acquisition finally satisfy me?

Rather than strive for more and more success, Buford writes, we should focus on the eternal.

Here are three examples of

Tom Harper

how we can find significance right now in our jobs without sacrificing productivity or results:

Become a blessing … don't just count them. Your life should not be all about you. Be thankful for blessings like your family and good health for sure. But more importantly, look for ways you can serve your family, spend time with hurting friends, or counsel a business associate.

Work for your other boss. Belief in God adds a new dimension to the meaning of your work. The Bible says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men … ." When you work from this perspective, you'll think on a new level about integrity, excellence and work ethic.

Lead by focusing on others. In Good to Great, by Jim Collins, the CEOs of most great companies threw their egos out the door. They set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation and their ambition was for the company, not for self.

My name will certainly fade from the annals of business after I'm gone. The memory of how I served on boards, spoke at conferences or achieved corporate success will dissipate in the wind right after I check out.

Even if I do something great in this industry, who will really care 50 years from now? People in the future will have their own concerns. They'll be too busy achieving their own success to care what I did. The ATM industry itself may not even exist in its current form.

As I survey my life, I realize that I must strive not for success, but for significance.

If I invest in future generations, it is in the lives of my children's children that I will be remembered. It is in the diaries and memories of people I serve that I will live on.

And when I get to the gates of heaven, I long to hear the words promised by our Lord: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

When I hear that, I will know true success.

Tom Harper is president and co-founder of ATMIA. He is president of NetWorld Alliance, which publishes ATMmarketplace.com, and lives in Louisville, Ky. with his wife and two sons. He attends Southeast Christian Church and is publisher of ChurchCentral.com.