your legacy

here's a thought experiment that will either inspire you or ruin your afternoon: what would you want written on your tombstone?

not the generic "beloved father and friend." the real thing. the sentence that captures what your life actually meant. if you can't answer that clearly, you have a direction problem.

the tombstone test

this isn't morbid. it's clarifying. when you force yourself to distill your entire existence into a single statement that lasts for thousands of years, you're forced to confront what actually matters to you versus what you've been chasing because society told you to.

"made a lot of money" doesn't feel great carved in stone. neither does "replied to all emails promptly" or "had a really nice car." but "built things that outlasted him" or "made people feel less alone" or "never stopped learning" — those hit different.

reverse-engineering your life from the end

once you know what you want your legacy to be, work backwards. if you want to be remembered as someone who helped others, are you actually helping anyone right now? if you want to be known for courage, when was the last time you did something brave?

most people's daily actions have zero alignment with the legacy they'd want to leave. they're spending eight hours a day building someone else's dream while their own sits untouched. the tombstone test reveals that gap with uncomfortable clarity.

you're writing your legacy right now

every day you're adding a line to the story that people will tell about you after you're gone. every choice, every interaction, every thing you built or destroyed or ignored. you don't get to write your tombstone at the end. you're writing it right now, one day at a time.

the question

sit with this for five minutes today: what do you want to be remembered for? write it down. then look at your calendar for the week and ask yourself honestly — is anything on it moving you toward that legacy?

if the answer is no, something needs to change. and you know it.

if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.