Everyone goes through the same stages when they have a business.

First, you're excited and scared.

Driven by fear, you manage to survive.

Then you start to thrive. And during that stage you probably go through a phase of paying yourself back for all the hard work you've put in. You buy yourself toys and houses and all kinds of shit.

Eventually you start asking yourself, “What does it all mean?” “What's next?”

Four out of five businesses fail. I've survived. 1% of businesses make a profit of over $10 million. I've joined those ranks. I've gone from survival, to thriving, and now to focusing on my legacy.

I believe in two things to my core:

1. Business will drive positive impact in the world, and
2. I need to encourage women who are playing a bigger game for profit, by helping them follow their purpose without compromise.

As a mining girl from a small country town in Moranbah, how can I help? I lead the way. I lead by example. As an investor, I only partner with founders and acquirers who believe in the Buy1Give1 Model of business (more on that later in this chapter). I step out of my comfort zone and share my experiences. I connect with other entrepreneurs so we can empower each other to think big. I surround myself with an amazing support team, so that I have lots of cuddles and cushions for when I'm up against the haters, the controllers, and the no-change-makers.

Most importantly, I get really good at saying no to things and people that don't contribute to either of the two things above. It's amazing how much power and energy comes from defining your purpose and the legacy you want to leave. It gives you laser focus and a reason to jump out of bed in the morning.

That's why the blend is so important. It's not just about having an easier life, more freedom to do things you want, more earning power, more respect, more time with people who matter, more fun, more playtime, more indulgence … those things are some of the bonuses of a blended life, but they're not the endgame.

When you know what you value and you know what value you bring …

When you know what your purpose is and what you want to leave behind for others …

… your focus becomes crystal clear.

Blending helps you live a life that's in alignment with that focus. It helps you serve the most important things, and cut out everything else.

My legacy is a work in progress. So I've invited people I respect to contribute to this chapter, including my mentor Jeff Hoffman.

Jeff is a serial entrepreneur who has received numerous awards for his lifetime contributions to the field of entrepreneurship. He's also produced Hollywood movies, concert tours for high-profile artists, and a Grammy award–winning album. He serves on the boards of multiple charities and nonprofits, and works to empower entrepreneurs in less privileged countries in partnership with the White House, the US State Department, and the United Nations. His model for legacy inspires my own.

CHARITY VERSUS LEGACY

Ever since I was little, I've always “done charity.” I started fundraising when I was in primary school. I was the kid who did the 40-hour famine every year. I was the student council president and then, after I left school, I competed in the Miss Australia pageant. I won the title of Miss Fundraiser for my area.

To be honest, that's when I first started to realize that I was really good at making money. Until then I wasn't really interested in being a business owner. My role models weren't business owners. I always thought I'd work for somebody else. But when I made good money for Miss Australia I thought, oh, I'm actually good at this. I could do this for a business.

So I did go into business, and I did make money. Figuring out the best way to give some of that money away was just a matter of coming full circle.

But I didn't figure out how to make my giving really effective until I thought about entrenching it in my business. I'd always donated to charity, but there was nothing intentional about it. I wasn't building anything.

That's the difference between doing charity and creating a legacy. Your legacy is something that you live every day. It's something you're building, that will last after you're gone. It's not just about money; it's about giving your time and effort to things that matter, being habitually generous in all circumstances (even when your financial resources are limited), and being a living example to people around you.

Contributing to charity is a great way to give back. But creating a legacy is about so much more than making donations.

LEGACY THROUGH BUSINESS

Entrepreneurship isn't the destination, it's a tool. If you want to make the world a better place, unleash an army of entrepreneurs.

—Jeff Hoffman

We talk about legacy a lot in Entrepreneur's Organization. I used to hear that and think, I'm a marketer. What could I possibly do to change the world? But now I'm a firm believer that business is going to change the world.

Billionaires won't fix the world's problems—although lots of wealthy people are doing an amazing job, there's just not enough of them, and we have to hope that each one becomes a philanthropist. Relying on super-rich people to throw large donations at the problems isn't going to fix everything.

And we can't expect the government alone to change the world. They are slow to move and really only have a true impact when it comes to policies and refuge. Small to medium businesses represent 70% of the US economy. Those businesses are where the real potential for change lies. Imagine if every one of them incorporated giving back into their business model—how much difference could that make?

There are different ways to make giving part of how you do business. I personally believe that the Buy1Give1 model¹ (better known now as B1G1) is a great initiative—so much so that I only invest in businesses that agree to structure it into their business model, if they're not doing it already.

In the B1G1 model, giving is triggered by small, regular actions that your business does. Every time you earn something, you give something back. For example, when you make an online sale, a tree is planted. Or each time you onboard a new client, they can choose whether to buy a goat for a family in Africa or pay a child's school fees for a year.

All the B1G1 partner projects are in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. And your impacts are automatically tracked, so you can watch how quickly your contribution grows.

The reason that Tamara's businesses work is because she does certain things habitually in those businesses. In the same way, when you give habitually, amazing things happen.

—Paul Dunn, Chairman of Buy1Give1

You might be reading this and thinking one or both of these things:

• Entrepreneurs are going to change the world—good for them, but that's not me! I'm not the kind of person who starts multimillion-dollar businesses. How am I supposed to make a difference?
• This “legacy” thing is great for rich people, but I'm not there yet! I'll start giving back when I start making real money.

Legacy isn't just about money. And you don't have to do it through business, like I do. Legacy is about giving yourself to what matters. It's about deciding what you want people to say at your funeral, then living a life that creates that lasting impression.

You can do it no matter what circumstances you're in, what vocation you have, or how much capacity you have to give.

And you can start right now. No excuses.

You don't need profit to give back. Don't make that your excuse. Time and talent are things you have to give that are very valuable to people. Don't say “when I get rich I'll give back” … You can always do something that matters.

—Jeff Hoffman

LEGACY FOR YOUR LOVED ONES

We all want to provide something for our family to inherit after we're gone. But you can leave a legacy that's worth so much more than money.

Think about this: When you're gone, would you rather leave your kids with a big inheritance or a big impact? Would you rather they've got your money or memories of you? Would you prefer to build them an investment portfolio or invest in teaching them to live full lives that make an impact?

I'm not saying you can't do both. Just don't focus on the short-term goal of trying to accumulate an inheritance to leave behind and lose sight of the long-term impact you can make on your loved ones that will carry on even after your time on earth is over.

Michel Kripalani, an app developer, created a daily coaching app that delivers motivational messages every morning. I've heard him talk about the moment he realized that his daughters would be able to receive coaching from him for the rest of their lives, even if he was hit by a bus tomorrow.

Another entrepreneur created an email account for each of his children when they were born. If anything happens to him and his wife, their kids will have access to years' worth of emails that their parents have been sending to mark significant moments in their lives.

Jeff Hoffman tells the story of his best friend Michael, who died in an accident when he was in his thirties. Michael wasn't successful by any traditional definition—he had no fame, money, or power—but he loved every second of his life. After Michael's death, Jeff came up with a new definition of a successful person:

“Any person who can stop at that moment in their life, turn around, look back on their life and say, ‘What a ride. I've used my time on Earth well. I would not change a thing.'”

Isn't that the example you'd like to leave for your loved ones? Isn't that the type of life you'd like to lead? A life lived so that your loved ones will think of you and say, “She used her life well.”

LEGACY BY LIVING EXAMPLE

People are always watching you. Your friends, your employees, and especially your kids. Your life is an example to other people, whether you intend it to be or not. So make sure the life you're living reflects the kind of example that you want to be.

I want to live a life that inspires other people. That might sound like a big call, but an inspiring life doesn't have to be extraordinary. I don't think I'm special. Everybody's got something unique to add—something you bring to the conversation that nobody else is saying. Live a life that you'd be proud for people to copy.

You can create a legacy just by sharing your story. This book is part of my legacy. It might not end poverty or save the world, but maybe I can change the conversation around women, work, and “balance.” By talking about the way I shape my life to honor my values, I want to give other people permission to live their own version of a value-centered life. The conversation will get a little bit bigger. More voices will be added. And more women will make choices that have a ripple effect for good.

Your life has incredible power—it's a living example to everyone who comes into contact with you. What legacy can you live out?

LEGACY GIVES YOU LASER FOCUS

When you get crystal clear on the type of legacy you want to create, everything else fades into the background.

It's like when you become a parent, and suddenly you have a new sense of priorities. So many things you worried about before seem unimportant now. You gain a new level of efficiency because you don't have time to spare. And you choose more effective actions, because you don't want to waste energy on unimportant shit.

Or when you have a health scare and realize that you won't be around forever. You stop putting off that travel you've always wanted to do. You take time off work to spend with your family. All of a sudden you know what really matters in life, and you're not bothered about all the different things demanding your attention. You know where to put your focus, and all the rest is noise.

Getting clear on your legacy is like that. When you know your “why,” the type of legacy you want to build, anything that isn't related becomes less important. It's easier to cut out the things that don't contribute and put your time, energy, and money into being the kind of person you want to be. You know what you need to do to make the contribution you're determined to make before you leave this earth.

This is why blending is so important. It's not just a self-indulgent thing. It's a set of skills that helps you maximize what you get out of life so that you can give the most to what really matters. It helps you cut out the crap and make the biggest, best contribution that you can with the resources you've got.

This laser focus opens up your life in unexpected ways. Understanding what I value when it comes to legacy has given me bravery in business. It's helped me walk away from an investor who decided to stop doing Buy1Give1 due to the reduction in his profits. It's helped me reduce the clutter when I'm choosing which businesses to invest in. Most surprisingly, it's given me a unique proposition over other investors when it comes to businesses choosing who they want to go with as a partner.

After all, purpose is a driver for humans. When you have a clear sense of purpose, other people want to work with you. They see your passion and they want to partner with you to impact lives together. My personal thing is that I want to impact 50 million lives a year. When I tell people that I want to have enough businesses to impact 50 million lives, they want to get onboard with me to make it happen.

I love this prompt from Jeff Hoffman to help you drive your legacy. He says:

Imagine that today is your funeral; what would people say about you?' Then write down the answers to these questions:

1. What would people say?
2. What do I wish they would say?
3. What am I actually doing with my life to make that happen? What do I need to do?

Then go and do it.

START NOW

“How many billionaires would it take to fix the world's problems?”

I was on Necker Island with Richard Branson, having a discussion with 30 entrepreneurs from around the world, when somebody asked this question.

Okay, it's great that there are billionaires in the world who can make a difference. In Silicon Valley, more people are becoming billionaires faster. Many of them are very much into giving. But I wondered, why is it being left to the select few? Why are we having a conversation about billionaires?

Why do we assume that generosity should be left to the extremely wealthy? Why are we waiting until we're very profitable before we start giving back?

I've been guilty of this. Sure, I've always given to charity, but not consistently. I'd give when the company was profitable, or at Christmastime. “Special occasion charity,” I call it.

A lot of us do this—we have bursts of generosity when a big payment comes in, or when our business has a great month. Or we tell ourselves, “I'm working on building up my financial security first. One day when I'm making a lot of money, that'll be my time to give back.”

The problem with saying you'll give “one day” when you feel rich enough to afford it is that one day might never come. You'll keep putting it off and putting it off, waiting until you're a little bit wealthier, when you could have been giving a small amount consistently all along.

That's why, if you have a business, I encourage you to entrench giving as a cost of goods, rather than waiting until you're profitable to donate.

The same applies to your personal finances or other resources. Don't wait until you're making a lot of money, or you have a lot of spare time on your hands, to start thinking about giving to others. That day might never come! When will you ever feel like you have enough money or enough energy to be generous, if not now?

Entrench generosity into your life as a cost of living. You can implement the Buy1Give1 model into your personal spending, no matter how much or little you have to share. There are apps you can use to set up “giving triggers” in your daily life—for example, every time you buy a coffee you could automatically donate 10 cents to a clean water project. Or when you complete a five-mile run, you trigger the donation of a vaccine to a child in a developing country. How amazing that would be!

A wonderful family activity is when you dine out together, at the end of the meal when you pay the bill, the kids can feed a less fortunate family for a night via an app. Giving is a learned skill, so teaching your kids the act of small, ongoing giving is a great trait for them to have ingrained.

Small, consistent acts of generosity will probably add up to more overall than random grand gestures. More than that, continuous acts of giving will open you up to more connections and more opportunities to grow your legacy. Make giving a part of your everyday life and you'll cultivate a mindset of generosity. Who knows where it will lead?

The time to start is today. Building a legacy is a little bit like building a snowball. It takes time to get it packed together, but eventually you want to get that snowball rolling. How big do you want to get that snowball? Think about people that have really big legacies—how long have they been doing it?

—Michel Kripalani

The sooner you start, the more impact you can have. I'm not talking purely about the dollars you'll donate over the course of your life. I'm talking about the legacy you can build.

It might be a culture you create in your company, or in your family. That type of thing takes years to become deeply rooted and return results in people's lives.

A friend of mine owns an inspiring business called The Helensvale Group. Instead of giving staff bonuses, the team gets to choose a charity to give to through Buy1Give1. Their goals are set around number of impacts, as well as revenue targets.

It might be a life well-lived that becomes an example for others. In 10 years from now, you'll have a decade of life choices to look back on—and even more so in 20 years, and 50. What kind of life do you want to have lived? What kind of example do you want to be? Start making different choices now, and change the course of your life.

I'm pretty proud that I've started thinking about legacy in my early forties. People who are talking about creating legacies through business are usually older, so I feel I have a decade's head start. I feel like I can make more of an impact by starting now. If you're in your twenties or thirties, even better. You might not be in a place to create huge-scale generosity yet, but you can start making small impacts that will continue to grow.

And if you're older, it's never too late. A lot of people use their retirement to volunteer for a cause. Think about how you can maximize that and move from just doing charity to creating a legacy. How can you dedicate the rest of your life to doing something meaningful that people will talk about when you die? How can you connect with loved ones and be well remembered? How can you continue to influence them after you're gone?

I'm not a religious person, but I have a modern adaptation of the Manual written by the first-century stoic philosopher Epictetus. It's a book of principles for living. That's like my Bible.

Epictetus doesn't call it legacy. But we're talking about the same thing:

Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. Once you have determined the spiritual principles you wish to exemplify, abide by these rules as if they were laws, as if it were indeed sinful to compromise them.

Don't mind if others don't share your convictions. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer.

Put your principles into practice—now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! You aren't a child anymore. The sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program, the happier you will be. The longer you wait, the more you will be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better.

From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do—now.⁴

That's where a blended life can take you.

So go and blend, baby.