Mediocrity Is Easy

I'm working on an MA from Hope International University in Fullerton, California. Part of the degree program requires weekly posts to an online forum, per course. In that, this week's online discussion for one of my classes was posed this question: How do you want to be remembered? Are you making daily or weekly incremental progress toward creating that legacy?


I've been discussion this with a number of other students on the forum, but I'd like to share my most recent post.
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It's after 1:00am and I'm lost in Radiohead - In Rainbows... and I'm thinking out loud here...

It seems that most of the posts I've read here (mine included) are about how we all want to be remembered by our character etc.... but of all the historical people I can think of, very few are remembered for their character. It seems like the most 'remembered' people out there are remembered for what they did, rather than who they were. Nobody knows (or cares) if George Washington Carver was a great father/husband... but everyone knows he invented peanut butter (... maybe you didn't know that... but you should... and he figured out over 300 other uses for the peanut). Same with... well, anyone-- name 'em... George Washington, the First President of the US-- John Smith... dated a girl named Pocahontas.... You get my point.

Then we have people like Jesus, Ghandi and a few others who are remembered for both.

So what I'm wondering is this... is it shooting too low to only want to be remembered by something as... simple as being a great friend, or someone who smiled a lot?

Shouldn't we have greater goals as well? How do you define a 'selfless' legacy?

....

... and the deal with John Smith... I think that was just in the Disney movie... either way, great story ;)