"The trouble is, you think you have time." — Jack Kornfield
This week, I found myself sitting in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts — a place filled with history and quiet inspiration. Known for its famous Author’s Ridge, this is the final resting place of literary icons like Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Alcott family.
These writers shaped how we think about life, purpose, and living deliberately. As I sat among their graves, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own life — how I’m living, how I want to be remembered, and what legacy I’m building day by day.
"The trouble is, you think you have time." — Jack Kornfield
One of the most powerful practices I’ve done — and encourage others to try — is writing my own epitaph. Not because I’m focused on death, but because it brings clarity to how I want to live.
What would I want people to say about me?
How would I want to be remembered as a mother, a wife, a friend, a leader?
When we pause to ask these questions, we give ourselves the opportunity to align our choices today with the legacy we hope to leave behind. Writing your own eulogy isn’t morbid; it’s a wake-up call to live on purpose.
Henry David Thoreau famously said:
“I wanted to live deliberately… and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
His words still ring true. Research tells us the biggest regret people have at the end of their lives isn’t what they did — it’s what they didn’t do. The dreams left unfulfilled, the risks not taken, the days wasted waiting for “someday.”
The good news? You woke up today. You’ve been given the chance to make choices that align with your deepest values. A great life isn’t built in grand moments — it’s created through small, intentional days strung together with care and consistency.
YOU ARE DESIGNED
FOR GREATNESS!
Would you love to discover your passion, access your potential, take action and live with purpose?
Join us for a FREE, one on one STRATEGY SESSION.
To live a life you’ll be proud of, begin with these questions:
What do you want to be remembered for?
What would be written on your epitaph?
What stories would people share at your eulogy?
What small choice can you make today to live more deliberately?
Your legacy is built one day at a time. It’s never too late to start living with more intention, more presence, and more heart.
Many blessings to you from Sleepy Hollow.
— Stacey Berger, Ever Expanding Coaching
After 16 years of climbing the corporate ladder, mentoring entrepreneurs in marking, operations and finance, I made the decision in 2014 to teach success principles full time, combining my love of business and personal development.
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When I’m working with clients, I’m often hearing “Stacey, I think my dream is too big, so I’m going to shrink my dream. I’m going to go after this goal, and then once I achieve that goal, then I’ll start thinking about what it is that I really want.”
