This weekend, I found myself thinking about legacy.

It started after hearing about the death of someone whose public life took such a dramatic turn that, regardless of how anyone feels about his politics, history will probably remember him very differently than it would have just a decade ago. And now there’s nothing he can do about it.

It reminded me that legacy isn't something that's written after we're gone. It's being written every single day. And that got me thinking...

What will my legacy be? No, I’m not full of myself. You don't have to be rich, famous, or hold public office to leave behind a legacy.

What will my great-great-great-great niece know about me a hundred years from now?

Will she tell stories about an aunt who became a filmmaker, won Oscars, built a studio, and created work that still mattered decades later? (A girl can dream.)

Or will I simply become family folklore? "Didn't we have an aunt who worked on movies and put grandma in one?"

That's a very different legacy.

I know we're constantly told to "live in the moment." And I agree. But today's choices become tomorrow's legacy. The good, the bad and the ugly. You may not care what people think about you after you’re gone but that foundation matters for generations. The work I do (and person I am) today shapes how I'm remembered tomorrow.

There's an old saying (I can’t write or say that phrase without hearing George W. Bush in my head – if you don’t know google it) the saying I’m referencing is that no one, on their deathbed, wishes they had worked more.

I understand the sentiment. But I also think artists are a little different. I genuinely love what I do. Creating, writing, making movies, it doesn't feel like work to me. Is it difficult? Absolutely. Has it broken my heart (and wallet) more than once? Without question. But that's life. Nobody promised us it would be easy.

There's a story—I have no idea if it's true—about an elderly director who had gone blind and was still directing films. That's the dream. I don't even plan to retire. If someone has to pull me away from a set at ninety years old because I refuse to stop creating... I’m with that.

So, what does this have to do with filmmaking?

Everything. One of the questions I get asked most is:

"How do I make a movie?"

And my answer is almost always the same. Just. get started. Set a date and work toward it.

Because every year you spend waiting is another year your story isn't part of your legacy. Tomorrow is not promised!

Waiting until next year...

Waiting until you have more money...

Waiting until you know the right people...

Waiting until you feel ready...

Sometimes waiting means never.

That doesn't mean quit your job tomorrow and max out your credit cards to make a movie (been there, done that). It means begin moving toward the life you actually want.

Write the script. Take the class. Shoot the short. Build the audience. Learn the business. Take one step. Then another. Then another.

Legacy isn't built through one giant moment. It's built through thousands of small decisions made consistently over time.

As for me? I've got a lot of work to do. Because I don’t want to be the aunt who put grandma in a movie. I want that great-great-great-great niece talking about the aunt who built a media empire...while she’s living off the generational wealth that came from it.

Hey, a girl can dream!