No matter how we choose to take action, we are usually working toward a future that we will be unlikely to see. It’s a future built on the hopes and the sacrifices of our ancestors upon whose labor and love we stand.

This is why Jung suggested: There is no greater burden on a child than the unlived life of a parent.

Sooner or later, the choice will be made: to be loyal to your conditioning and thus to the image of your parents in your unconscious or to be loyal to your essence, which gives you freedom and true security.

Yet if we truly wish to become good ancestors, we need to expand our conception of legacy and think of it not just as a route to personal glory or as a bequest for our offspring, but as a practice of everyday life that benefits all future people. We can think of this as a transcendent ‘legacy mindset’, where we aim to be remembered by the generatio

I knew if Joel’s grandson grew up and felt guilt over the sacrifices made for him, it would be a slap in the face to Joel and everything he did with such pure intention. My sense of guilt and obligation diminished the hard work and desires of those who came before me. It was a total emotional shift. Rather than motivation through obligation, I now