What will people say?

David Steininger
November 12, 2025

Over the past few days, I celebrated an anniversary, a birthday, and a funeral.

Suffice it to say, I’ve been feeling especially reflective lately.

Life is Good

Our son Ben turned nine. We celebrated with smash burger tacos, a bike ride, and some laser tag. After the boys went to bed, I spent some time scrolling through baby photos - reflecting on how much he’s grown, and imagining what sort of man he’ll grow up to become (and what sort of father I need to be for him and his brothers).

Then my wife and I marked 15 years of wedded bliss. We enjoyed a little “staycation” over the weekend - resting, hitting up a few thrift stores (a favorite pastime of ours), eating good food, and enjoying lots of beautifully uninterupted conversations.

But a couple days earlier, on the afternoon of our actual anniversary, we attended the funeral of a friend’s father. I never met him personally, but I was inspired by the stories his family and friends shared. And that got me thinking about the sort of legacy I want to leave; what sort of stories I hope people will share at my own funeral some day.

Life is Bigger

I beat this drum a lot… because it's the rhythm I try to live by: Your business is just one part of your life. The projects that are consuming you and the problems that feel huge right now are temporary. Many of the things that keep us up at night will be long forgotten in a few years. It’s still stuff we need to deal with, but we need to be careful to keep our priorities clear and not sacrifice major things for minor things. And in order to do that, we need to take time regularly to slow down and sort out which is which.

Here's an exercise that's helped me with this: Write your own eulogy.

Donald Miller introduced this idea in his book, Hero on a Mission. Lots of people set 1, 5, and 10-year goals. But jumping all the way to the very end is a powerful way to make sure my short-term actions align with my long-term purpose.

Here's what I wrote for mine:

David Steininger leaves behind a legacy of love and encouragement - first and foremost to his wife Suzy and their three sons - but also to anyone who he had the pleasure of sharing a few minutes and a warm beverage with. A (some might say) compulsive problem solver, he was always looking for ways to connect the dots, to resolve a conflict, to make a system run a little more smoothly, or offer people a more hopeful perspective on life. His superpower was helping people find the path to a positive outcome when others struggled to see a way forward.

He wanted as many people as possible to experience the blessings of community and the fulfillment of producing something with purpose. Through his coaching practice, David helped over 1,000 business owners and entrepreneurs move forward; equipping them with the confidence and tools to not just build strong businesses, but to experience peace in their personal lives, raise strong families, and inspire generous communities.

Together with his wife Suzy, David opened their home for business and community leadership retreats, workshops for young entrepreneurs, and countless meals and late night conversations with friends. But above all else, he most cherished the campfires and soccer scrimmages with his children and grandchildren.

If I’m going to be remembered as a person who [fill in the blank], then what do I need to do today to make sure that becomes a reality? What do I need to not do in order to avoid sabotaging my legacy?

You don't have to write yours perfectly. Just start by painting in broad strokes a picture of what you’d like your whole life to look like, and let that be something that guides you as you make choices in business and in life.

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