*This article is brought to you by global leaders in wealth creation Mastermind Group
By Ilze Alberts*
Are you the one who will be passing the torch to the next generation?
Firstly, congratulations on what you’ve achieved in your lifetime.
Secondly, the hardest thing is to let go and allow others, maybe even some who are better and smarter than you, to take over what you’ve been building over many years. You might even be concerned that you’re passing the torch to family members you believe are less intelligent and ill equipped to take over, but because they’re family and you feel responsible, you know the torch will be passed to them.
I believe it’s the desire of every parent to create an extraordinary life for their children. We want to give them more than what we perceived we had, and we want to make life easy and happy for our offspring.
BUT
As Khalil Gibran, Lebanese American writer, poet and visual artist, wrote in his poem from The Prophet:
Your children are not your children.
It is the responsibility of every generation of parents to accept and appreciate the following:
- Every child born in your family is an individual and not an extension of any parent.
- Parents must be acutely aware of the danger and trap of living vicariously through their children.
- No child is born to live the dreams and goals of a parent. Every person is born to live his or her own dreams.
- Every person is born with his or her own unique purpose and mission. No person is born to fulfil the purpose and mission of another person, even if the other person is a beloved parent.
- The gift of love parents can give to their children is copious amounts of freedom to express and be themselves authentically, without conditions.
The love and expectations a parent can have of their children can sometimes get mixed up. This is where I can help.
As a psychologist and life strategist, I help grandparents, parents, and children to each live their own life and pass the torch at the same time.
In my book Passing the Torch, I write about how to be a great businessperson and much more.
Get your copy of the book, Passing the Torch – Preserving Family Wealth Beyond the Third Generation, available in South Africa, Passing the torch, Bella Vida and AMAZON (hardcopy or kindle edition.)
- Ilze Alberts is a Psychologist and Human Behavioural Specialist and she is known for her skills in mentoring leaders in families and businesses. She is an accomplished international speaker and author. You can email her: [email protected].
