“Treat people as they are, and you make them worse. Treat them as if they were what they could become, and you help them become what they are capable of being.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I love this quote. When I look back on my life, I realize there have always been people who saw something in me long before I could see it myself. They believed in me long before I was able to believe in myself. And sometimes, all it takes is that one person who lends you their belief until you finally discover your own. Maybe that's why one question has been on my mind these past few days: What do we really leave behind?
About a year and a half ago, I had the privilege of sharing the stage in Orlando with my speaking mentor, Les Brown. The occasion was the release of our joint book, The Power of Perseverance. The very first time I saw Les Brown speak live was back in 2014 at the National Achievers Congress in Stuttgart. I was completely captivated. Sitting in the audience, I remember thinking: "One day, I want to share a stage with this man." I never imagined that eleven years later we wouldn't just stand on the same stage—but would even become co-authors of a book together. Life has a beautiful way of writing stories that are far bigger than anything we could have planned ourselves.
So why am I telling you about Les Brown? A few days ago, I came across one of his Facebook posts. He was writing about his most successful student, Dr. Myles Munroe. "Success without successors is failure." I nodded. Then I read the next sentence. "Success isn't measured by what you leave for your children. It's measured by what you leave in them." I slowly put my phone down. And suddenly, a question hit me like lightning. If that's what success really is... am I successful?
To find my answer, I opened a folder in my inbox called "Feedback." It's filled with messages I've received over many years. The very first email began with these words: "The two of you completely changed my life." It came from a man I met during one of our cruises. His marriage was on the verge of falling apart. He described himself as emotionally empty. He had lost access to his own feelings. Then I read these words: "Thanks to you, I found my way back to my emotions. I realized that I still love my wife and that I want to do everything I can to build a happy life together again."
I sat there quietly smiling. Not because I felt proud of myself. But because something suddenly became crystal clear. Maybe every single one of us leaves something behind in the people we meet every single day. Whether we realize it or not. The only question is: What are we leaving behind?
I opened the next email. Sabrina had written after one of our journeys: "The positive energy from those first three weeks is still with me today. I move through life much more mindfully now. And I've learned that sometimes the smallest things create the biggest changes.
Then came Stephanie's email. Four years after attending one of my lectures at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University. Four years. Not four days. Four years later. She wrote: "Alongside Dr. Schwarz, you were the lecturer who had the greatest and most lasting impact on my life." Four years.
Can it be that we often have absolutely no idea what kind of footprints we're leaving in other people's lives? Interestingly, psychological research points in exactly the same direction.
People experience their lives as most meaningful when they feel that they make a difference in someone else's life. And do you know what's most beautiful about that? It doesn't require grand gestures. Sometimes it's simply an honest conversation. A listening ear. A sincere compliment. Or someone who sees something in you that you simply can't see in yourself—yet.
Maybe that's where our true purpose as human beings begins. Not in trying to change other people. But in helping them rediscover themselves. So today I'd like to leave you with just one question: What do you want to leave behind in the people you meet?
More courage?
More trust?
More hope?
More joy?
More gratitude?
More love?
More respect?
Maybe that's exactly how we change the world.
Not all at once. But one person at a time. One conversation at a time. One smile at a time. Perhaps that's exactly what Goethe meant. To see people not only as they are today… but as they could one day become. To recognize someone's potential long before they can recognize it themselves. Because sometimes all it takes is one encouraging look. One kind word. One thumbs-up. For someone to begin believing that one day, it might actually be possible. Maybe our greatest legacy isn't found in houses. Or money. Or titles. Or bronze statues standing in a town square. Or streets carrying our name. Maybe it's found in people.
People who became braver because we believed in them.
People who smiled again because we gave them hope.
People who remembered who they had always been.
And perhaps one day, someone will say about you: "Because you were part of my life, I became a little more of the person I always wanted to be." I believe...there is no greater success than that.
