Here’s What I Hope You Say at My Funeral
Updated: Jan 8, 2021
I recently read the book Living Forward by Michael Hyatt, and a certain part stuck out at me. An exercise in the book had me write down all the groups of people coming to my funeral. Then, I had to write down what each of those groups would say in my eulogy.
Some of the groups I wrote down were family, friends, church, employees, contractors, clients, and partners.
The common thread I wanted them all to say was that I cared deeply about everyone’s purpose in life and that I loved God and made him the center of it all, and Jesus was someone I strived to be like.
As entrepreneurs, we all want people to say great things about us. Not just when we pass away, but also today.
You might be someone people like. Awesome! I bet what I’m about to write; you will totally resonate with.
You might be struggling because people don’t like you, you’ve made enemies along the way, clients think you’re a jerk, you’ve burned some bridges…you’re a mess. Will you believe me if I tell you that you need to make ONE adjustment, and everything will turn around?
So how do we become the kind of entrepreneurs where people say amazing things at our eulogy?
There’s an awesome verse in the Bible that speaks about the end of David’s life.
“Now when David had served Godʼs purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep;" Acts 13:36 NIV
King David did some messy things in his life, but no one could argue two things:
God had a unique purpose for David.
David chose to follow that purpose.
King David changed the world. We still talk about him today, even with the ugly past he had.
I don’t know about you, but I have made some past mistakes I sure wish I could undo. But instead of focusing on that, I focus instead on knowing that God has a big purpose, and I must choose to use my energy towards accomplishing it.
Whether you have realized it or not, God has already created the plan for your life. You’re either living in your zone of genius or inauthentically creating your own plans. You’re either excited to be a washer machine, or you’re a washer machine trying to be a refrigerator.
For those of you entrepreneurs that struggle to find your niche, could it be that you haven’t fully done what we saw exemplified in David – surrender to God’s will for your business life?
When I totally have the CEO position to God, and I took on a managerial role in my company, I began to frame my mind to this notion that God has an amazing purpose for me and my business. I had to go to him daily for those instructions.
The great news is that your eulogy still hasn’t been said yet! The same choice that David had, you and I have today: choosing to be under God’s will.
Michael Hyatt’s exercise of writing my eulogy confirmed my desire to go after God’s heart and serve my purpose here.
I am calling you Godpreneurs to the same. If we as a generation full of business leaders serve the purposes of God in our marketplaces, we could see our un-wasted lives move together and change eternity with our services and products.
I wish I could say that everything will be easy going from the moment you make this decision…but it won’t. The business world is one disappointing lesson after the other, but it’s our pursuit of purpose that helps us pile through the necessary heartaches to get to the place where others can say he/she ran a business of purpose.
Imagine if we all knew and understood God’s vision and purpose for our lives. It wouldn’t be a dream anymore; it would be a reality that we live day in and day out in our businesses.
As we set out to rewrite our eulogies, I want to invite you on a journey of discovering what you were born to do and bringing that vision to life.
But first, tell me: what’s holding you back from living out the business dreams God put on your heart? How would your business be different if you surrendered the CEO position to God?
Godpreneur Rules
Godpreneurs seek after God’s own heart in their businesses.
Godpreneurs know they were born to do something and choose to do that.
Godpreneurs resist anything that’s holding us back from living God’s dream for our businesses.
When we die, Godpreneurs want people to say that we served God’s purpose in our business.