What Is Your Wake?

Josiah and I spent some quality time last night eating and hanging out together. As I mentioned last week (see “One Down, Four to Go”) I’m meeting with him on a weekly basis during the summer to share some thoughts and wisdom that will hopefully help him have solid footing entering middle school in the fall.

Our conversations over the summer are going to surround a book I’ve read a couple of times called “Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality”. The book is by Dr. Henry Cloud and is really designed as a business book (the front cover says “How six essential qualities determine your success in business”). In reality, it is a ‘life’ book with principles that, I believe, would help anyone.

I read through it last summer and am about finished reading through it a second time. This time around I’ve specifically been reading it with the boys in mind - looking for nuggets that would be helpful for them and that they could understand as 11 year olds.

The main thing we talked about last night was that each of us, like a boat, leave a wake behind as we travel through life. You can tell a lot from a wake - how fast the boat is moving, whether it is on a straight path or is turning, etc. In the same way, you can tell a lot about a person by the wake he/she leaves behind.

Our wake affects us/others in two areas: in tasks and in relationships.

TASKS: You leave a legacy of work behind you in what you do. Results matter. They are the stuff which we are evaluated/judged in life for and from which our dreams/goals find reality.

RELATIONSHIPS: As you go through life, who you are and what you do has an impact on others around you. When you come into contact with people, you either leave them better off, feeling blessed/encouraged/more fulfilled, or you leave them worse off, feeling unhappy/discouraged/less fulfilled.

I made a bookmark (see picture above) for Josiah to keep in his book(s) this week (he’s an avid reader) to help keep these thoughts in his mind.

What about you? As you look back over your journey thus far, what is your wake? What are you leaving behind you?

Perhaps those are introspective questions, perhaps not. In either case they are worthy questions to keep in front of you this week to see how your life is affecting others around you through the work you do (tasks) and the people you encounter (relationships).

If you’re interested in learning more about Integrity, check out the following reviews I posted last summer:

• “My Impressions of Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud”
• “More Impressions of Integrity”

Posted 06.19.2009

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