Sustainability Is Fueled By Purpose & Fulfillment
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
By Rae Ostrander
When entrepreneurs talk about legacy, they usually obsess over what happens after they die. Will the business survive? Will people remember my name?
To be honest, I think that version of legacy is just ego on steroids.
As an entrepreneur and a father of two teenage daughters, I've stopped trying to control what happens when I’m gone. Instead, I focus on equipping my daughters to survive and thrive while I’m here. If they learn to effectively manage the present, their future present will also be manageable as they grow and develop.
If I transfer a business to them but they lack the skill to run it, I haven’t given them a legacy; I've given them a millstone around their neck. If I transfer assets without transferring the skillset to build purpose in their lives, they’ll likely just seek comfort. If that is all I do, I'm just providing them with the means to remove obstacles and avoid hard things. My legacy would be enabling atrophy rather than resourcing their growth and development.
Legacy vs. Short-Term Gain: The Lesson from Recovery
For me, this isn’t just business; it's deeply personal.
Especially in difficult moments, I've experienced an overwhelming desire to escape that pain. I figured out as a teenager that alcohol is an extremely effective means of immediate short-term relief.
As you can imagine, this pattern of behavior can be very harmful, and it certainly was in my case.
Over 30 years ago, I decided to stop drinking and take responsibility for my life. Thankfully, mentors were able to convince me to begin to embrace discomfort. They encouraged me to take on challenges, and with their support, I was able to string together several small victories. The positive results introduced me to a new way to approach the challenges and obstacles of life.
Short-term relief, as appealing as it is, is how I forfeit the opportunity to have the long-term high impact outcomes that would give me a sense of deep fulfillment.
Creating a Business (and Life) That Outlives You
For a business to survive for any significant length of time, it must serve the immediate as well as long-term needs of its customers and its operational team. If the business succeeds in providing a path to deeper fulfillment that has immediate relevance to their lives, the business is "alive". It will continue to remain alive as long as it continues to provide this. The deeper the fulfillment it contributes to, the more that business will thrive and propel itself into the future. It's not about me; it's about being perpetually relevant to our customers and team.
My oldest daughter and I invested a tremendous amount of time and money in her pursuit of athletics. As a player who came off the bench at the highest level for her age group, she could have pursued athletic scholarships for lots of D2 or D3 universities.
I was surprised, but ultimately so proud that she decided to ratchet back her focus on athletics and chose a school and a program that align with her future goals and ambitions. She didn't let her past successes which were leading her on a great educational and vocational track, limit a change in trajectory to something that provides her with a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment. What a difficult and courageous decision it often is to move away from the comfort and familiarity of a good situation to pursue the uncertain great one.
Defining Wealth Beyond Money
Wealth provides us with the autonomy to choose from a variety of financially viable options. Hopefully we choose the ones that provide us with the most purpose and fulfillment.
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