Obituary test
Decide what you want your obituary to say, then live so as to deserve it
Start from the end. Write, or at least decide, the few sentences you would want said about you once you are gone, then work backward to what that requires now. The story usually told with it is Alfred Nobel reading a mistaken obituary of himself, disliking what it said, and changing course. Done honestly it separates the things that feel urgent from the things that will matter, and it tends to push people toward relationships, kindness and craft over money and titles. An evening and a piece of paper are all it takes.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Warren BuffettRecommends
Investor · Berkshire Hathaway chairman
In the November 2025 letter that announced he was going quiet, he retold the story of Alfred Nobel reading his own mistaken obituary and changing his behavior, then advised readers not to count on a newsroom mix-up: decide what you want your obituary to say and live a life that deserves it. Get the right heroes and copy them, he added, starting with Tom Murphy.
Source: Berkshire Hathaway: November 2025 letter to shareholders
Aimed at the same thing
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