I believe the difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.

The difference between the two is living intentionally versus living by accident.

Most people spend their lives reacting. They react to circumstances, opportunities, setbacks, other people’s expectations, and whatever challenges happen to come their way. They wake up each day focused on the urgent rather than the important. Years pass, and they find themselves wondering how they arrived at a destination they never consciously chose.

Great people live differently.

They begin with a vision. They decide what they want their lives to stand for. They identify the values they want to live by, the relationships they want to cultivate, the impact they want to make, and the legacy they want to leave behind. Then they make daily decisions that move them toward that destination.

Zig Ziglar often described the difference between these two groups as a “meaningful specific” versus a “wandering generality.”

A wandering generality hopes things work out.

A meaningful specific creates a plan.

A wandering generality wishes for success.

A meaningful specific defines what success looks like and pursues it relentlessly.

A wandering generality drifts.

A meaningful specific directs.

This principle is powerfully illustrated in Stephen Covey’s famous “Funeral Exercise” from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Covey asks readers to imagine attending their own funeral many years in the future. Family members, friends, coworkers, and community members stand to speak about your life. What would you want them to say?

Would they describe someone who loved deeply?

Someone who lived with integrity?

Someone who made a difference?

Someone who honored God, served others, and left the world better than they found it?

The purpose of the exercise is simple: if you know what you want people to say at the end of your life, you can begin living that way today.

Most people never stop long enough to ask these questions. They become so consumed with making a living that they forget to create a life.

Living intentionally requires courage because it forces us to take responsibility. We can no longer blame circumstances, our past, the economy, or other people for where we are headed. We must choose our destination and accept ownership of the path required to get there.

For me, intentional living begins with faith, family, purpose, and service. It means asking daily:

• Am I becoming the person God created me to be?
• Am I investing in the people who matter most?
• Am I using my gifts to serve others?
• Am I living consistently with my values?
• Am I building a legacy or simply making a living?

Life is too precious to leave to chance.

You don’t accidentally build a great marriage.

You don’t accidentally become a great parent.

You don’t accidentally build a successful business.

You don’t accidentally leave a meaningful legacy.

These things happen when we choose to live by design.

The good news is that no matter where you are today, you can begin again. You can define your vision. You can clarify your priorities. You can create a plan. You can begin taking intentional action toward the life you want to live.

The future belongs to those who create it.

So the question is this:

Are you living as a meaningful specific or a wandering generality?

Are you creating your life, or is your life creating you?

Because one day, whether we realize it or not, our daily choices will become our legacy.