In fast-paced, future-focused industries, it is easy to think growth only happens by looking forward — at market trends, new tools, and what comes next.
But what if some of your most powerful insights for money, leadership, and resilience lie in the past?
For professionals and entrepreneurs with wealth to manage, legacy often sits quietly in the background. Not just in the sense of leaving one, but in inheriting one — whether that means inherited beliefs, behaviors, or even blind spots around money and power.
Tapping into your roots does not require spiritual rituals or ancestor worship. It means looking at where you come from with a critical, respectful eye — and seeing how your personal and family history might be guiding (or sabotaging) your current financial decisions.
You were not born with a financial blueprint — but you likely inherited one.
Whether your grandparents built empires or fled crisis, their decisions shaped how your parents thought about money, which shaped how you now operate in business, investments, and risk-taking.
This is where Deborah Price's Money Archetypes come in.
Let's say your family history includes:
Scarcity or survival stories → You may have internalized The Innocent or The Victim, leading you to avoid taking calculated risks or overly defer to "experts" because it feels safer.
Hard-working and driven entrepreneurship → You might identify with The Warrior or even The Tyrant, always pushing forward but never really feeling satisfied or safe.
Even without realizing it, many high-achievers are operating with inherited scripts. Scripts that may have helped previous generations survive — but could be limiting your potential now.
Shirzad Chamine's Saboteurs give us another useful perspective. These are mental patterns we develop under pressure to stay safe or in control — but they can limit our growth.
For example:
The Hyper-Vigilant might reflect a family history where financial stability was always uncertain, leading you to over-monitor every expense or investment out of fear.
The Pleaser could emerge from a background where putting others first was the only path to acceptance, making it hard to negotiate, charge what you're worth, or make bold moves.
Recognizing these patterns is not about blaming your past. It is about understanding which mindset belongs to you — and which ones you may have inherited without questioning.
You don't need to light candles or build an altar to honor your ancestors (though you can if that resonates). But there are grounded, practical ways to bring this insight into your financial and personal development:
1. Map Your Financial Family Tree
Take 20 minutes to write down what you know about your family's relationship with money across 2-3 generations:
What messages were passed down about work, wealth, success, and failure?
What was modelled — risk-taking, caution, generosity, secrecy?
2. Identify the Archetypes & Saboteurs Pairing That Might Be Inherited
For example:
If your family ran from instability → you may default to Innocent + Avoider.
If they prided themselves on relentless productivity → Warrior + Hyper-Achiever might be running the show.
3. Decide What to Keep — and What to Redefine
You are not here to reject your history. You are not here to passively accept it either. You are here to evolve it.
Ask yourself: What parts of this legacy actually serve me now?
And just as importantly: Which parts are outdated for the life and business I am building right now?
Understanding your roots is not about sentimentality. It is about strategy.
The stories, mindsets, and habits passed down through your family line affect the way you lead, invest, and respond to opportunity or risk. Bringing them into the light allows you to take ownership of your financial identity — and upgrade your behavior accordingly.
Because you don't just build a legacy by making money ... You build it by becoming conscious of how you use it!
What is one financial belief or behavior you inherited — and what would it look like to rewrite it on your own terms?