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The question

How would you want people to remember you?

Originally asked

Vogue, to one guest at a time, on camera, 73 Questions

A recurring legacy prompt in Vogue's 73 Questions, appearing with only minor wording changes.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States, 2009–2017; United States Senator from Illinois 2005–2008

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
When I am on my deathbed, and I am thinking back on my life, I am absolutely certain that the thing I will be thinking about is holding my daughters' hands and taking them to the park. It will not be some speech I gave or some legislation that I passed. I am positive about that. And so if you keep that in mind, then you have to invest accordingly.

Ben Tiggelaar, Forward Thinking Leadership, Amsterdam, Ben Tiggelaar, 28 September 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

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Jane Asher English actress and author
If my children remember me as fondly as I remember my mum, that would be a treat.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 May 2023 source ↗

More from Barack Obama

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Question What fills you with the most pride? Identity & self
What makes me proudest about them is that they also don't get cynical about it. They have not assumed because their side didn't win, or because some of the values that they care about don't seem as if they were vindicated, that automatically America has somehow rejected them or rejected their values.
Recorded Christi Parsons, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, the White House, The White House (Obama administration archive), 18 January 2017 source ↗
Question What lesson has mattered most in your life? Time & hindsight
I believe in this country. I believe in the American people. I believe that people are more good than bad. I believe tragic things happen, I think there's evil in the world, but I think that at the end of the day, if we work hard, and if we're true to those things in us that feel true and feel right, that the world gets a little better each time.
Recorded Christi Parsons, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, the White House, The White House (Obama administration archive), 18 January 2017 source ↗
Question How do you balance creative work with everything else in your life? Daily life
It's hard - truthfully the main thing other than work is just making sure that I'm spending enough time with michelle and the girls. The big advantage I have is that I live above the store - so I have no commute! So we make sure that when I'm in DC I never miss dinner with them at 6:30 pm - even if I have to go back down to the Oval for work later in the evening. I do work out every morning as well, and try to get a basketball or golf game in on the weekends just to get out of the bubble.
Recorded Reddit r/IAmA, Reddit (archived), 29 August 2012 source ↗
Question What has life taught you about being human? Values & belief
Part of what separates us from the other creatures on earth is that we make up stories. We are storytellers. And we can tell bad stories and we can tell good stories. We can tell stories that lead to division and hate and war. Or we can tell stories that lead to cooperation and peace and progress.
Recorded Ben Tiggelaar, Forward Thinking Leadership, Amsterdam, Ben Tiggelaar, 28 September 2018 source ↗

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