Warren Buffet recently released his last investor letter as Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. There are plenty of golden nuggets within the letter, but one sentence stuck out to me above all the rest-
“Decide what you would like your eulogy to say and live the life to deserve it.”
This resonated to me because I did this exact exercise back in 2014 and it changed the entire trajectory of my life. I’m not sure where I came up with the idea, but I spent a couple hours writing what I would hope someone would say about me, and came to the realization that no honest person that knew me would say those things. I was only 27 years old at the time, and had lived my life fairly selfishly, but that was not how I wanted to be remembered when I passed. I spent that next month thinking about what that meant, and what I wanted to do about it. I no longer have that document, and I will soon rewrite it (and probably share it here with you), but I can say what inspired it.
I had a conversation with my mother at one point (those of you that follow me on social media know her as Wholesome Darlene), and she told me about my grandfather’s funeral. He died in 1989 when I was only two years old. I don’t remember him, but there are plenty of people that still do (if they are still alive themselves).
Dante “Don” Barbieri was the son of Italian immigrants that served in WW2 and eventually bought out the construction company he worked for, WH Breiholz. That is not the important part of this story, and is not what he was remembered for. Don had hundreds of people that attended his funeral, and the funeral home physically couldn’t fit all the people that wanted to be there.
Why? It had nothing to do with his status, the money he made, or the buildings he constructed. It had everything to do with how he made people feel and what he did for his community. Dante Barbieri was a man of his word and a fair businessman. He always delivered on his promises and took great pride in his craft. He was a consummate husband, father, and friend. He took care of people in need, often at no cost. He made people feel as if they were his only concern, even if he had plenty of his own. He would just as soon change his elderly neighbor’s lightbulbs as he would bid on his next big construction project. He was a man of deep faith, and personally built the altar and chair for Pope John Paul The First when he visited Des Moines in 1979. Even as someone that is not religious, I recognize the significance of that.
The eulogy I wrote for myself is a pretty close mirror for my grandpa Don. It is what has driven me over the last decade, and the intent behind Leetown Advisors. My business is not just a source of income, it is not a “job” for me; it is part of how I leave my mark on the world. I hope to leave a lasting impact on people with my work, both inside and outside of Leetown. I feel tremendously lucky for the wonderful relationships with the people around me, and I desperately hope those people feel the same.
Ultimately, though, this isn’t about me. This is about you. If you were to do the same exercise and write your own eulogy, what would you want yours to say? It is not even remotely my job to tell you what that would be. But it is my job to help you align your money with your values, whatever that means for you. Let’s get that done. Click the link below, and let’s Make Life Your Beach.