Garrett Neiman, serial nonprofit entrepreneur, activist, founding CEO of CollegeSpring, co-creator of Liberation Ventures, and Senior Fellow at Prosperity Now, explains the "7 generations principle" of leaving a legacy, adopted from the indigenous peoples of North America.Hear Garrett's full interview in Episode 48 of Let's Talk Legacy.
There's an indigenous principle called the seven generations principle, where the way some of these tribes who have this belief operate is, what does it look like to make decisions with an eye toward how they'll impact people seven generations out? You know, so looking out 150 years, 200 years, you know, what does it look like to make decisions at an individual, institutional, and societal level?
with that viewpoint in mind. And, you know, maybe that's a little abstract, but I think aspirationally, that's something that I take really seriously. And, you know, particularly now that I'm a dad, you know, I wrestle with these questions of, you know, do I, you know, do I invest in maximizing the unearned advantages of my son, you know, or do I invest in
building a society where everybody can thrive regardless of what their internet manages are. And I think that the reality is I do some of both, that there's ways that I invest in my kid in ways that I know that not everyone has the opportunity to. And
But I'm also trying to take a less myopic view than I think some folks take and really try to put significant time and attention and resources into how we build a just and equitable society for everybody and a society that is sustainable for people and planet for the long haul.
And the other thing I'll say about legacy is that one of the things that I've looked a lot at is, you know, what do people regret on their deathbeds? You know, people regret things like, I wish I didn't work so hard. I wish I was there more for my family and friends. I wish I had the courage to do what I wanted instead of getting caught up in those fears.
There's lots of ways where societal pressure actually leads many of us, maybe most of us, toward regret. And so what does it look like to... take a step back and really be intentional about what are the lives that we want to have.
And in particular, knowing that the day-to-day rewards of doing something like having brunch with your kid, that that might not generate the same hit or high as knocking out a work deliverable, but in the long run, Those relationships are really all that matters, that the material success fades.
And I've never heard of anybody late in life who said, gosh, I wish I worked more hours, spent more hours at the office. And so it makes me wonder if our allocation is a little off in our day to day.