BY KEISHA JOHNSON
Congratulations to Grant and Trish Browning, owners of Carib101 Media Corp, for putting their skin in the game to create a platform for the Caribbean community to showcase its contribution within the Canadian business landscape.
It is said that we strengthen a community by pulling others up as we climb higher.
The Browning’s staging of the 2nd annual Toronto Caribbean Business Expo on April 24th did just that. The Expo was a rich display of the strength and diversity of the Caribbean small business sector in Canada. Over seventy small businesses seized the opportunity to participate.
More importantly, many of the businesses present could have remained in obscurity had it not been for the exposure of this business expo, both on the day of the event and through the extensive social media publicity campaign prior.
As we explore part two of the discussion on legacy and What it Takes to Live For What You Will Die For, Grant and Trish make a good case study.
They are using their business, skills and connections to build a legacy not just for their immediate family but for the Caribbean Canadian community.
As we said in part one, legacy is the footprint we make on the future. To make that footprint we must find the fire within our belly and stoke it. This is our raison d’être. It is the passion that fuels and motivates us to stretch from good to great and from great to extraordinary.
The next vital step in legacy creation is to take action and put some skin in the game.
That’s what Grant and Trish did by stepping outside of their core business to stage the 2nd annual Toronto Caribbean Business Expo.
To put skin in the game means we make significant sacrifices, take risks and invest in something that costs us to create benefit for others. By so doing we fulfill one of the foundational criteria for creating a legacy. And that is that legacy is always for the people.
Meaning that the contributions we make must be to impact others. It is then that society celebrates us. For the value of our contribution in life is measured by the impact we have on others, not on what we do for ourselves.
Why then does legacy even matter and why should anyone care?
Because we are members of a community called the human race. Within humanity, as it is at the microscopic level of the family, each person has a contribution to make. When everyone plays their part, the family functions well.
The opposite is true. If one family member is absent or underperforms, it creates strain and sometimes dysfunction. The family is at risk of being impaired and may even struggle to thrive.
You could apply this notion across all types of group collaborations, be it the workplace, team sport or the classroom.
Each person is uniquely gifted with the potential to play their part to enhance the welfare of the group, family, community and human race at large.
When we think of building community for example, we are reminded that community begins with individuals. Just like a mighty waterfall starts with one drop of water. Each member is important and each member has significance to the function, strength and health of whole.
Therefore don’t shrink back on the banks of your greatness. Too many of us do.
For that reason it is said that the graveyard is the wealthiest place on earth, because so many dreams, innovations, inventions, books and potential are buried there.
As we ponder the desire to have an impact, to create or leave a legacy, let’s be mindful that the world does not celebrate us for our potential, it esteems us for our performance.
The significance we all hope for will remain elusive if we shrink back or remain immobilized by fear: fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of disappointing others who may have a different vision for our life, fear of taking a risk.
Therefore be bold. Stoke the fire in your belly and put some skin in the game to live for what you are willing to die for. Make your contribution and play your unique part in advancing the welfare of the human race. For the size and impression of our footprint on the future is determined by the impact we have on humanity through the contributions we make in our lifetime.
