Less than more to come

When a person that has been respected and looked up to passes from this life many morn. Some regret that their life has been meaningless and little has been accomplished. Others crawl away and disappear because they feel inadequate. Then there are those that do not think about it and just go on. Should one live life collecting achievements and good deeds like one collects pennies in a jar? Or be like the flag bearer during the battle that lays dying and hands off the flag saying, "Carry it well, I only held it for a moment but I carried it well, so please continue to carry it well, then pass it to be carried on ... well"