Is legacy just vanity?

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I hear people talk about leaving a legacy a lot. They want to make generational wealth and create their “legacy”. I have had a hard time understanding this. I am sure this is going to be an unpopular statement but isn’t legacy just vanity? How you want to be remembered by future generations seems incredibly vain to me. I think the things I am most proud of in life are the things I struggled to attain. Isn’t a little bit of struggling healthy?

I want my children to have every opportunity in life, but I don’t see how generational wealth benefits them. It certainly may make it easier for them, but I want them to embrace the struggle and overcome those obstacles that life throws at us. No matter what we do life is going to throw obstacles in their way. It is my intention to teach my kids, through both speech and example, that setting goals, using your brain, and fighting through those bumps in the road will not only help them achieve but they will feel good about it too.

When I hear people talk about generational wealth and legacy, I think of a sales pitch by the speaker who is tapping into the vanity of the audience. If the audience sees themselves as not being able to provide such a legacy for their children, they may dream of it. But why? Shouldn't they be building the “legacy” every day by teaching them how to achieve and strive. How to overcome. How to challenge themselves. How to look in the mirror in the morning and be both proud and motivated. That seems like a much stronger “legacy” to leave than anything financial.