Dad Says Writing a Legacy Letter is Worth It

A Legacy Letter is powerful for the one writing it as well as the one receiving it.

Dave Taylor was an Army Ranger for 24 years and is now the CEO of LDR Leadership. He loves his two children and recently went through the Legacy Letter Challenge with a group of dads.

This is what Dave wrote on LinkedIn this week:

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"I'm glad Dad wrote that", "Dad, you remember that letter you wrote me?" Two quotes from my daughter and my son, and with that, I knew I did the right thing.

Just over a year ago, a good friend of mine, Jeff Tiegs introduced me and other fathers to Blake Brewer, who runs the Legacy Letter Challenge.

Blake is on a mission to help 1 million dads write at least one well written, meaningful, lasting Legacy Letter to their children. This stems from his own experience when he was snorkeling with his dad at age 19 and lost his father during what was, at the time, a great day. Later that day, his mom gave him a letter his dad had written him and it changed his life and became the inspiration to share that with others.

It was not always easy writing the letter to my kids as it required looking inward and that can be difficult for all of us. Telling them things you might apologize for, what makes you proud of them, why you love them so much, great memories, and life advice. It was emotional - especially as I carried a lot of my own guilt for missing so much of their youth while deployed while in the military.

I gave my son his letter for his birthday and my daughter hers right before going back to college (both about a month ago). Kids being kids, I didn't hear much and often wondered what, if any, impact it made. Those two quotes I've heard in the last week and it made me realize the true impact on my two kids the letter has had in their life.

It truly is one of the best letters I've ever written. For fathers out there, this really is an amazing opportunity to share something special with your kids. I'd encourage any father to give this gift to your own children. Thanks Blake and Jeff for further solidifying my relationship with my kids.