Why is your legacy so important—and, in a time when many property professionals are working through exhaustion and burnout—why does it matter at all?
“[Legacy is] one of the few things that, regardless of the outcome, money can’t buy,” explained historian Brad Meltzer, host of Decoded on the History Channel and Lost History on H2. The New York Times best-selling author will deliver the Sunday, June 29 keynote at the 2025 BOMA International Conference & Expo. “Sometimes we get so caught up in money and houses and all the flawed parts of the American dream that we forget the more important parts of the American dream, which [are] kindness and empathy and how to be a good person. When you ask yourself that question [“What’s your legacy?”], you don’t just change your outlook, you change yourself. For many of us right now, it’s a question worth asking.”
Meltzer will use examples from history to remind attendees of their ability to affect positive change by reevaluating what’s truly important in life. Attendees will also gain a better understanding of the impact they can make at work by helping others reveal their own legacy.
“So often, we don’t realize the impact we’re all having,” Meltzer said. “We can say, ‘Oh, this is someone who does commercial real estate’ and you know what that is, but you forget that it’s not just about real estate—it’s about the people who live there, the opportunities created because that place is there, the people whose families now get to go to college because this place exists. We spend so much time in that myopic moment that we sometimes forget to pull out and see that our impact is far greater than we could have ever anticipated. That’s really what I want to show people.”
Legacy encompasses the things we often think of first—family and friends—but it’s so much more than that, Meltzer added. His core belief is that ordinary people change the world.
“We forget to look at the impact we have on our communities and the impact we have on total strangers out there,” he said. “When you look at that, you’ll realize how much regular people are such a vital part of it. For me, personally, I don’t care where you went to school. I don’t care how much money you make. That’s nonsense to me. I believe in regular people and their ability to affect change on this planet. I love showing people their own power.”
