Member-only story
There’s No Luggage Rack on a Hearse
The value of now.
While I love all kinds of music, except heavy metal or 1980s New Wave and pop rock, I know little about country music.
I know that George Strait is a country music great, although I couldn’t name a song.
I recently heard one of his lyrics that sums up my approach to life, my passion for fighting injustice, and how I parented my now young adult children:
There’s no luggage rack on a hearse.
Meaning, we don’t get to take our money, talents, resources or gifts with us when we die.
That’s why I get courtside season tickets to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets every year. Why I travel to six countries a year, buy nice clothes, and try a fancy new restaurant the second it opens.
When I bought my dream car a few years ago, my kids were excited but surprised. I reminded them that I wasn’t saving up for my death.
“Guess who’s going to pay your mortgage when you get a house someday,” I half-jokingly asked them.
You!
I always taught them to invest. They’ve owned stocks since age 13.
But I also wanted to teach them to value the now, too.
