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The question

What would you most want to leave your children?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

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Ali Abbasi builder
I want to leave my children three foundational tools to navigate the world: Life skills: The practical capability and independence to take care of themselves, solve everyday problems, and handle adult responsibilities with ease. Confidence: A self-belief rooted in resilience, knowing they have worth, deserve to take up space, and can handle failure without letting it define them. A sense of humor: The ability to find levity in life's absurdity, laugh at themselves, and keep perspective when things don't go according to plan. If they leave home with these three things, they'll have everything they need to build a meaningful life.
I don’t have children. I will leave my nieces money because girls need money of their own. Anything to make women independent.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 April 2025 source ↗

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Question When were you most embarrassed? Failure & regret
When I was appointed director of public prosecutions, I had a government car and visited the security services. When I came out, I got into the back of what I thought was my car, but it was somebody’s private car and they told me in no uncertain terms to get out. I had to reverse out with as much dignity as I could, with the head of security services watching.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 August 2023 source ↗

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