Great Great Great Grandchildren
It is a common theme to devote your life to the prosperity of your grandchildren, to leave a legacy. Personally, when asked how long I desire to live, it is to see my grandchildren as adults.
But the legacy idea is deeply flawed, once you look to the generations beyond your grandchildren, which is inevitable.
- They probably won’t know anything about you, unless you have a Wikipedia entry
- They aren’t much of you genetically
- Continued prosperity and a safe cosy world is not guaranteed
Your great great great grandchildren are only 1/32 you genetically, and 31/32 other dead people. If you could look down from heaven and see your traits in them, you are probably biased or delusional.
Legacy to family is pretty much just the surname, if you are the one in 32 providing it. By then, surnames could be extinct anyway…
But if you were the person to invent the flushing toilet – wow! Not only will all of humanity have a reason to treasure the memory of you, your great great great grandchildren will proudly say they are descended from you.
Work for everyone, not just your kids.
(also, keep in mind that your siblings are 100% genetically you, your kids are 50%, and the other parent is 0%)