Previous versions of my list of life goals were lists of specific tasks, some of the wild and pretty impractical without a lot of money. This time, I wanted to pair down to the core idea that underlies what all the previous goals. The core principle that guides the long arc of the person I want to be and the legacy that I want to leave.

Build institutions that endure and enrich society.

Making something that enriches a single life is hard. Making something that enriches a whole community, or the whole of society is even harder.

Likewise, making institutions that last is also hard. People are resilient but we have a complex inertia that often makes our older institutions stagnate and hinder those they were built to help. Making institutions that enrich their communities, while staying relevant and enduring is a tall order.

(Related: what would an institution that has processes to plan and prepare for its own termination and possible replacement look like?)