Interesting post, as usual. And cute pic, cool necklace! :)
I like the quote "the most important work you do is with yourself" and I think it is important that people realize that they can improve their life by looking internally and not so much externally. I think we all start life the same way, kind of as a fish in a tiny pond where all our needs are provided for, ideally. Depending on the mother's condition, the womb might not be that perfect but we can't do anything ourselves to improve things.
Then as young kids we're under the control of parents, family and society. We learn some cause-and effect rules about things we can do to get things we want. But it's inconsistent. However these variable interval/ratio schedules of reinforcement get us addicted to our behaviors and we idolize our reinforcers - parents, family, society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
As we get older, we come to understand our parents aren't the idols we may have originally thought. Time to find new idols in the form of god(s), cultural icons and partners. But as we learn more about these persons/entities we find out they aren't perfect either.
It's very hard to change things externally, and maybe we eventually realize the one thing we can change to some degree is ourselves. So I think it is true that "the most important work you do is with yourself" and not expect that work to come from our parents/family/friends/partner/society. We can improve ourselves if we set realistic step-by-step goals, and that in turn will improve our relationships, which will make life a little better for others. As this effect ripples out, the world could become a better place for everyone!
Just random thoughts inspired by your excellent post! I wish you a wonderful day! :)