Have you ever heard the origin story of the Nobel Peace Prize?! Alfred Nobel paradoxically was the visionary behind the Nobel Peace Prize, which has been awarded 962 times since 1901. 

While Nobel’s award fund would ultimately become famous, there’s no refuting that he was an unlikely source for a peace prize. His family name was “associated not with the arts of peace but with the arts of war.” 

What encouraged the “dynamite king” to donate his fortune to charity? Many believe it was inspired by a case of mistaken identity. In 1888, Nobel’s brother Ludvig had died in France from a heart attack. Credited to poor reporting, at least one French newspaper believed that it was Alfred who had perished, and it proceeded to write a blistering obituary that branded him a “merchant of death” who had grown rich by forming new ways to “mutilate and kill.” 

The mistake was later remedied, but not before Alfred had the horrible experience of reading his own death notification. According to biographer Kenne Fant, Nobel “became so obsessed with his posthumous reputation that he rewrote his last will, bequeathing most of his fortune to a cause upon which no future obituary writer would be able to cast aspersions.”

Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. – Shannon Alder 

Nobel lives on through his legacy and receiving a shocking reminder of the inevitability of his death helped him to get there. His story also illustrates how avoiding a negative legacy can be more motivating than simply wanting to build a positive one.

To create a powerful legacy with your life, you need to decide what contribution you want to make to the world. I suggest spending some time journaling and reflecting on the following questions:

Knowing what’s important, what drives you, and how you want to be remembered creates tremendous clarity in how you should live your life— and how you’ll eventually impact others.

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