THE SEEDS WE PLANT FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS

Sometimes, a single sentence can shift your entire perspective on life.

I recently met Denis Piel, whose iconic photographs captured some of the most memorable fashion images of the 1980s for Vogue and others.?

Now living a quieter life in the South of France, during our conversation, he shared something profound: "I plant trees in our garden based on what they will become in 10 or 30 years. I see them in the future when I might not even be here."

This simple yet powerful idea—planting something that will flourish long after we're gone—whether it's a tree, an idea, or a movement, struck me deeply.

My friend Scott Osman, CEO of 100Coaches Agency, calls this?"seven-generation thinking"—considering how our actions today might ripple through seven generations when even our names have faded from memory, but our impact lives on.

To grasp the span of seven generations, think about the oldest ancestor you remember or have heard stories about. In my family, five generations span from my great-grandmother to my daughter Alev. Alev knows of her great-great-grandmother Taibe Onaran through my stories, old photographs showing her white hair and 1950s dresses, and our family ritual of washing her gravestone in Izmir. But Alev's grandchildren will likely never know that if they possess a natural kindness, speak fluent French, or love classical music, they're harvesting from seeds Taibe planted long ago.

Marshall Goldsmith, one of our era's most influential business authors and executive coaches, once told me that Buddha is his hero because, despite never writing a book, Buddha's teachings transcend time and space, continuing to transform lives today.

In our fast-paced world of instant gratification and quarterly results, thinking in terms of seven generations might seem radical. Yet it's precisely this kind of long-view wisdom that our world needs. Whether we're artists, entrepreneurs, parents, or teachers, this idea of seven-generation impact invites us to think bigger than ourselves and longer than our lifetimes.

So what can we do, each day, to create positive ripples across seven generations? It might be teaching a child a skill they'll pass on to their children, starting a community garden that will nourish future neighborhoods, mentoring someone who will mentor others, or simply showing up with kindness in ways that create positive ripples.

Dennis Piel's practice of visualizing future trees he'll never see is a powerful thought experiment. It's humbling to acknowledge our temporal nature, yet beautiful to imagine our "trees"—whether literal or metaphorical—providing shade to those yet to be born.

Reflecting on my own work, I wonder: Will my books or products survive seven generations? Perhaps not. But the idea of planting a tree? That feels achievable. And I may not be Buddha, but I can try my best to touch someone's life in a way that creates positive reverberations across generations. And in my ear, I hear my great-grandmother's gentle reminder that I can nurture the seeds she planted by showing kindness and love to others every day.

With gratitude,

Ayse Birsel

INSPIRATION

Denis Piel's?website

Denis Piel’s books:?Moments ,?Filmscapes ,?Platescapes

For our design programs, please email Leah Caplan, VP, Design and Project Planning, Birsel + Seck, at?[email protected] .

For coaching engagements, please email Jacquelyn Lane, President, 100 Coaches, at?[email protected] .

For speaking engagements, please email Nancy Aaronson at?[email protected] .