Send us Fan Mail
What does it really mean to leave a legacy?
Is legacy what people remember about you after you are gone—or is it what you build now that other people can carry forward?
In this episode of Your Thoughts, Your Reality, Michael Cole sits down with internationally recognized jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and Jazz for Peace founder Rick DellaRatta for a conversation about legacy, purpose, service, music, peace, and turning adversity into meaningful action.
Together, Mike and Rick explore Legacy — The 10th Silent War and an important question for veterans, leaders, high performers, and anyone entering a new chapter:
How do I take what I know, what I care about, and what I have lived through—and turn it into something that continues serving beyond me?
Rick’s story changed dramatically on September 11, 2001.
From a rooftop less than a quarter mile from the World Trade Center, Rick witnessed the events of 9/11 unfolding. Without a piano in front of him, words began moving through his mind. He started writing them down.
Those words became a poem called “Jazz for Peace.”
Rick then faced a choice.
Would the poem simply remain words on a page—or would he try to live what he had written?
He chose to act.
That decision eventually grew into Jazz for Peace, a global initiative using music to support peace, education, fundraising, grassroots organizations, and causes around the world. The organization has now supported hundreds of benefit events while creating opportunities for other people to participate in something larger than themselves.
That is where this conversation becomes bigger than music.
Rick’s message is that legacy requires participation.
It is easy to care about a cause.
It is easy to admire someone doing meaningful work.
It is easy to say that something should change.
But eventually, the question becomes:
What am I willing to do?
This conversation connects directly to several of The 10 Silent Wars:
- Legacy — The 10th Silent War: “What am I creating that someone else can carry forward?”
- Mission — The 2nd Silent War: “What am I willing to contribute my time, talent, or experience toward?”
- Connection — The 3rd Silent War: “How can what I do bring people together rather than push them further apart?”
- Direction — The 8th Silent War: “What is one meaningful action I can take next?”
- Identity — The 1st Silent War: “Am I living according to what matters to me—or only thinking about it?”
Rick also shares his belief that music is far more than entertainment.
Across languages, cultures, religions, and backgrounds, music can create connection where words sometimes cannot. He describes it as a vehicle for creativity, healing, education, human consciousness, and ultimately peace.
Mike and Rick discuss something equally important for anyone wondering whether they are capable of creating meaningful impact:
You do not need to start a global movement.
Contribution can begin much closer to home.
Help a legitimate cause in your community.
Support someone doing work you believe in.
Use a skill you already possess.
Do something kind for another person.
Take the first action.
Rick describes this as creating “wealth inside.”
We spend enormous energy pursuing financial wealth, status, accomplishments, and external success. But Rick challenges listeners to consider another form of wealth:
What are you doing that makes your soul richer?
That question sits at the heart of this episode.
Because legacy is not only about what you leave.
It is about what your actions make possible while you are still here.
Rick also shares practical ways people can participate through Jazz for Peace—including simple actions designed to help individuals and organizations support worthwhile causes without requiring enormous amounts of money, influence, or time.
And to close the conversation, Rick gives listeners something special: a live musical performance and his Jazz for Peace poem—the words that helped begin a mission he has now carried for 25 years.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How witnessing 9/11 led Rick DellaRatta to write Jazz for Peace
- Why he chose to turn a poem into a 25-year mission
- What legacy means when other people can participate and carry the work forward
- Why music can connect people across cultural, religious, and language barriers
- The difference between caring about a cause and actually participating
- Why meaningful contribution does not require creating a global organization
- How adversity can become the beginning of something constructive
- Why service and contribution can create a different kind of personal wealth
- How ordinary people can begin supporting causes they genuinely believe in
- Why the first small action may matter more than having the entire plan
Before moving on, ask yourself:
What do I already have—an experience, skill, talent, relationship, or cause—that I could use in service of something bigger than myself?
You do not need to know where it will lead.
You only need enough willingness to begin.
Start by connecting with the Your Thoughts, Your Reality community and explore more conversations around The 10 Silent Wars:
👉 https://yourthoughtsyourreality.com/
Watch the full conversations and subscribe to the Your Thoughts, Your Reality YouTube channel:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@YourThoughtsYourReality
Learn more about Rick DellaRatta and Jazz for Peace, its 25-year mission, benefit programs, music, and ways to participate:
👉 https://jazzforpeace.org/
Explore Jazz for Peace’s Easy Ways to participate:
👉 https://jazzforpeace.org/easyways.pdf
And when you’re ready to go deeper and create meaningful change in your mindset, identity, and direction:
👉 https://empowerperformancestrategies.com/
Because your thoughts shape your reality…
And real legacy may not be what you leave behind.
It may be what you inspire someone else to pick up and carry forward.
#Legacy #TheTenthSilentWar #RickDellaRatta #JazzForPeace #Purpose #Service #MusicForPeace #September11 #PersonalGrowth #Veterans #The10SilentWars #YourThoughtsYourReality
Explore more episodes, resources, and updates from Mike Cole at:
https://YourThoughtsYourReality.com
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future conversations on leadership, mindset, and navigating life after service.
Support the show
