Passing the Baton
- Lowell Sheppard
- Sep 9, 2025
- 2 min read
Navigating Legacy: From My Mother to My Grandsons
If you’ve ever watched a parent age, you know how time shifts. One day it feels abundant, and the next it feels impossibly scarce.
Four years ago, after a two-year separation, I finally saw my mother again. She was worth every COVID-related hoop I had to jump through.
Now, four years later, she is gone. I am 70. I failed in my dream of crossing the Pacific—but I’m still here. I'm still living aboard my sailboat and continue to explore remote corners of Japan. And now, celebrating the arrival of a second grandson.
What my mother passed on to me, courage, wit, a touch of cheekiness, and an abiding love for family and those who matter, I now feel compelled to pass on to them. My grandsons are stepping into a century of complexity. I want to give them wisdom to navigate it, and the confidence to carry their own light into the 22nd century.
Watching my mother’s decline during the solitude of COVID was heartbreaking. She lived into her 90s, but those final years impressed on me a vital truth: the goal is not simply to live long, but to live well. To stay strong, engaged, purposeful—and to keep the years of decline as short as possible.
That realization has become the driving force behind my work today. At the Never Too Late Academy, our mission is to uncover truths, challenge longevity myths, and share insights that help us all move from just adding years to adding better years.
This weekend, Japan marks Respect for the Aged Day. I’ll be celebrating at the local festival here in Amami before setting sail once more toward Okinawa to explore a big question: What went wrong with the original Blue Zone?
The journey continues. It’s about more than my story—it’s about building a legacy worth leaving, and one that might just inspire others along the way.
Because it’s never too late to live well.And it’s never too late to pass on wisdom that matters.
Your Turn
As you think about your own life, your parents, children, or even grandchildren, what lessons have you received that you want to pass on? How are you building your own legacy?
Share your reflections in the comments below. Let’s make this conversation about more than aging, it’s about living well, with purpose, right now.
