You can leave a legacy without the money, and you can leave money but no legacy.

When most people think about leaving a family legacy, they think about wealthy people leaving lots of money to their children and grandchildren. But a family legacy doesn't have to be just for the rich. The less well-off and even the not-so-well-off can leave a family legacy too.

Too often, the creation of a family legacy is aimed at reducing estate taxes and perpetuating wealth for future generations. Although these are certainly worthwhile goals, they often have the unintended effect of creating future entitled generations, which can actually be a disservice to those individuals. But this need not happen. There are numerous opportunities to create positive good works through the vehicle of a family legacy. The key to a well-designed family legacy is to have a clear sense of purpose as to its intended use.

Instead of starting with the money first, ask yourself these questions: What really is my legacy to my family? What are the values I want my children and grandchildren to learn from me? Then ask yourself: How do I use my money to perpetuate my legacy?

I consider myself to be the luckiest guy in the world because I'm living the life I want to live. I'm 70 years old. I'm still involved in a career I love and I've been able to structure that career so I can stay in as long as I wish. It allows me to take time to stay healthy, travel, and follow-up on hobbies and things that I'm passionate about. This is the result of a four-step planning process that I began 15 years ago.

The New Retirement Paradigm

Know yourself.
Define your ideal work life.
Define your vision of your "play" life.
Arrange your financial infrastructure to be able to have the life you want.

Instilling a passion to learn early in kids' lives can make a huge difference in their success and their enjoyment in life. And helping kids find that passion can create a vitality and sense of purpose that can enrich our own lives.

Ray and Sandy share their personal stories of getting through their school years without finding a passion that made sense of their educational paths. Today, schools are less and less able to provide the experiential education that could spark kids' passion for learning. Budgets, curriculum mandates, time-consuming coursework, and testing all combine to make it more and more difficult for teachers to expose their students to experiences that could fire their ambition and create a passion for learning that could help them achieve their goals.

The stories in this book provide a taste of what is possible. The book also challenges readers to consider their own ideas and find a way to get involved. Ray and Sandy offer a format for developing experiential-education projects so they are viable and self-sustaining.

It's a win-win Students develop a passion for learning and adults are rewarded with vitality and purpose that can carry them through their active pre- and post-retirement years.