Material success can be measured in a multitude of ways: cars, luxury items, and followers. But behavioral finance expert Morgan Housel has an unusual exercise to do so: a reverse obituary.

“It’s a little bit morbid, but it’s to write what you want your obituary to say, and then try to live your life up to that,” Housel tells Fortune in discussing his latest book “The Art of Spending Money.”

He isn’t the first to adopt the approach for living a fulfilled life. The sentiment echoes that of Berkshire Hathaway’s legendary investor, Warren Buffett, who says many of his life philosophies were gleaned from his right-hand man, Charlie Munger, who passed away in 2023.

“Early on, write your desired obituary, and then behave accordingly,” Buffett wrote in a previous shareholder letter in 2022

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