As a Freemason, I’ve heard the word legacy more times than I can count, from brothers in the fraternity and from the men who knock on the door hoping to join.
They want to leave a legacy. Of what?
But legacy isn’t what most people think it is.
I walked away from a career in the entertainment industry when my kids were very young. My wife wanted to hire someone to be with them all day, and I refused to let anyone else raise my children.
In those early years, I was the one dropping James and Lizzie off on my way to work, and the one picking them up after work.
Most of my paycheck went straight to daycare. And when Charlie came along, I stepped away altogether.
I knew then what I still know now: nothing was more important than being present. Three young souls needed guidance in an ever-changing world. I never questioned the choice. I never weighed pros and cons. It wasn’t logic, it was instinct. It was the only path that made sense.
Never thought about a legacy.
I may now live paycheck to paycheck today, but I get to see the people they’ve become, independent, thoughtful, grounded, an incredible sense of humor and great all around people. Nothing in any career could replace that.
That is what legacy means.
Not wealth.
Not influence.
Not applause or power.
I still create. I write my books, my second book dropping soon, play and write my music, act, do stand-up for friends, co-host a podcast, and make faces in the mirror like a man who still enjoys being alive.
But none of that compares to the three incredible human beings I had the privilege to guide as an artist, throughout their lives.
They are my legacy.
Not me.
c 2025 Chu The Cud
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Chu The Cud 