What will you do today that matters? That lasts? What stories will you create today for future generations to tell explaining  not just what you did but how you lived?

The other day I saw an old photo mounted on a restaurant wall. The caption said “State Street, Chicago, 1905.” For about thirty minutes, I couldn’t stop looking at the photo.

I noted the people in the photo, their dress and their ages. Some of the people looked at the camera while others were moving so quickly that they were a blur of motion. I wondered if any of them ever saw the picture, or if it was snapped by a traveler who took the image home where, years later, a copy was framed for a small restaurant in Naperville, IL for me to find 105 years later.

It dawned on me that all of those people in the photo  had something on their minds and all of them had someplace to be. And then it struck me that it is highly unlikely that even the children in the photo are still alive.

We have a few years on earth, and then we’re done. Some  of us will leave stacks of photos for future generations to discover. Others of us will be remembered through stories or great accomplishments that others will tell about years after we’re gone.

A photo can capture only a microsecond. So don’t fixate on a moment in time. Rather, be intentional for a lifetime of moments to make sure you create the memories that you wish to last forever.