Create your life, connect with others, and change the world. The Legacy Project's Life Statement is a powerful way to explore, permanently record, and share who you are to make a difference in your own life and the lives of others.

The real measure of our lives is in what we learn from our life experiences, the ideas we bring into the world, the values we live by, and our hopes for the future. Life stories, memorials, biographies, and even mission statements are often a recitation of facts, events, and goals without the personal meaning behind them. In keeping with the tradition in some cultures of writing an ethical will – which, instead of passing along valuables passes along values – a Life Statement is an opportunity to share who you are.

Your Life Statement will mean something to you and your family – a blueprint for living and a meaningful gift to next generations. Your contribution also becomes a permanent part of the Life Statement Library and a living part of the Legacy Project's ongoing learning community reaching millions of children and adults. Others are guided into reading Life Statements that are of interest to them through our activities and workshops. Your life can make a difference.

You're probably familiar with the words of ancient Greek philosopher Socrates: "The unexamined life is not worth living. No one is wiser than you." There is personal value in thinking about who you are, where you've been, and where you want to go. There is also social value.

You may be less familiar with the words of James Baldwin: "You can write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can't, but also knowing that [the words] we leave are indispensable to the world... The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it." That's the power of a Legacy Project Life Statement.

Life Statements can be created by adults, teens, and children. You can create a Life Statement for yourself or for someone else:

1. As a personal journey of self-discovery, a special gift to your family, or to celebrate the birth of a child or grandchild, you can create a Life Statement for yourself that not only becomes a blueprint for living but also leaves a meaningful legacy.

2. Create a Life Statement on behalf of someone (e.g. to honor the memory of a parent, grandparent, or other family member).

3. Give the Life Statement as a gift to a family member or friend.

As the Legacy Project logo suggests, our lives can be a path along which we ask questions and make choices. The questions we ask and the answers we find determine the kind of life we live, the relationships we have, and the ways we shape our world. Our legacy evolves as we move from childhood through adolescence to young adulthood and older adulthood.

A Life Statement is an opportunity. It looks at where you've been and where you'd still like to go. It explores who you are, your relationships with others, and your impact on the world.

As you write your Life Statement, you'll connect with the essence of yourself – that part of yourself that's most important and that you want to live on to make a difference in the world and other people's lives.

Creating a Life Statement

The Life Statement you create appears on your own webpage as part of the Legacy Project's Life Statement Library. It features key experiences/stories from your life and a significant photograph. You also have the option of including a link to a family or personal website, or a Facebook or other webpage.

Other add-on options include additional photographs, a full biography, audio/video, and planting a tree in your name in the Legacy Center arboretum.

To write your Life Statement, you can use your own creativity or our carefully-researched, easy-to-use templates. We have different templates for adults, teens, and children. Our trained staff is also available to answer questions.

Once you submit your Life Statement, you'll be able to review it and make revisions before it's permanently posted.

Your Life Statement webpage becomes a permanent record that you, your family, and others can read. You create your own unique blueprint for living, and give the most important part of yourself – your most significant experiences, ideas, values, and hopes – as a gift to others.

For children and teens, we have special Life Statement writing guides that can be used by schools and youth programs (contact us for more information). Help young people discover and refine who they are as they make important choices for their future.

Our goal is to make the Life Statement accessible to EVERYONE. If you're able to make a one-time contribution to help us cover the costs of creating and maintaining the online Life Statement Library, that's appreciated.
If not, your Life Statement is still a welcome addition to the library.

Note that you can create a Life Statement for yourself, or to honor the memory of a family member or friend. Explore the Life Statement Library for ideas on writing a Life Statement.

Real life, real people. A Life Statement is your opportunity to share who you are as part of a meaningful online learning community. It's a permanent life resource for all ages.

For more information about creating a Life Statement, contact the Legacy Project at 1-800-772-7765. Or, if you'd like to get the process started without obligation, complete the form below.