Funeral director Victor Sweeney has written hundreds of obituaries, but the one he rewrites each year is his own — a practice that helps him reflect on his priorities.

"Each year, my obituary gets shorter and shorter," the 33-year-old tells CNBC Make It. "It's not that I'm doing less, but that there are fewer and fewer things that truly matter."

Sweeney lives in Warren, Minnesota, a small 1,600-person town 70 miles south of the Canadian border, with his wife and four children, and earns $87,000 a year as a funeral director and mortician. But you won't find salary details or a lot of professional achievements in his obituary.

Since 2015, Sweeney says he's gradually stripped it of much of his work history, awards and a commencement speech he once gave. "Now it's like, 'He lived, he loved, he had some kids.' That's about it," he says.

Sweeney keeps his obituary in an office cabinet alongside detailed instructions for his funeral, right next to the funeral plans he prepares for his clients. For him, funeral planning is practical — "You only have to bury so many people your age before you realize it could be you" — as well as an opportunity for him to tell his story in his own words. 

When you write your own obituary, "you realize that there is a priority to things" in which wealth or a list of accomplishments matter less than your family and service to others, he says.

Why Warren Buffett also recommends writing your own obituary

Sweeney's annual practice is in line with advice investing legend and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett shared at the company's annual shareholder meeting in 2023. When asked about how to avoid major mistakes in life, both financially and personally, Buffett's answer was simple: "You should write your obituary and figure out how to live up to it."

Your self-written obituary should serve as a guide to what truly matters to you, which may not always be wealth.

In addition to sharing advice on spending less than you earn and avoiding debt, Buffett reminded the audience to focus on being kind. "I've never known anybody that was basically kind that died without friends," he said.

"I've known plenty of people with money who died without friends, including their family," he added. "What a difference that makes in life."

For Sweeney, writing about his death helps him reflect on his life thus far, reaffirming his sense of fulfillment with the choices he's made.

"I'm wildly happy," he says. "My wife likes me, my kids look forward to my return every day and I love my boss. I don't think I've ever felt I should have done something else, and that's all a man can ask for."

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