My Reaction to Charlie Kirk’s Memorial

A stadium came together to honor a life—and it forced us to look straight at the finish line. Not the five-year plan, not the next raise, but the final day when our story is told by the people who knew us best. That moment reframes everything: goals shrink to what really matters, values sharpen, and legacy stops being a buzzword and becomes a daily choice.

We walk through a simple, uncomfortable practice: write your obituary or legacy letter. Name who shows up, what they say, and which habits made it true. From there, we build structure so vision doesn’t evaporate under stress—creating a life by design with clear domains, operating rules, and a cadence that makes excellence a habit instead of a mood. Along the way, we sit with a harder cultural question sparked by the memorial’s unity: in a diverse and polarized nation, what actually binds us? We explore the role of shared values, faith, and standards as the backbone of community, and why humans need rules and meaning as much as freedom and choice.

This is a call for courage close to home. Lead where you stand—at your dinner table, in your business, on your block. Personal excellence scales: one person sets a higher bar, another follows, and soon there’s a current that lifts everyone. We share real stories of people who turned inspiration into action, from running for local office to training for an ultra, and we challenge you to pick a cause you’d defend at a cost. Do your part. Make it clear. Make it daily. If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what will they say about you when it’s all said and done?

Chapters

• 0:00 Legacy Beyond the End Date
• 0:47 Setting the Scene: Kirk’s Memorial
• 2:28 Obituary Exercise and Vision
• 3:35 Intentional Living and Self-Mastery
• 4:00 Shared Values and National Fractures
• 6:05 Can Diversity Sustain Unity?
• 7:20 Structure, Faith, and Meaning
• 8:40 Revival, Leadership, and Courage
• 10:20 Personal Excellence as a Movement
• 11:20 Do Your Part: The Ripple Effect

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Endgame type scenario in our minds, meaning there's no after that day, like there's no goals beyond that point. That's the end of your life. What did you do? Like I said, when you're younger, you think short term, or maybe five, ten years down the road. You're like, man, I really want to buy this house or I want to grow this business or I want to do this thing. But what about when it's all over? What are you gonna be remembered for? I can't help but think about gosh, when I die, I hope I have a handful of people there, or people thinking about the good that I did in this world and people that I've been able to impact. And I'm sure, like for you, sitting back home, watching that event or seeing what's taking place, like you can't help but start thinking about what you're doing in your life right now that's going to impact other people's lives. Welcome back to another episode of the Unstoppable Mindset Podcast. I'm your host, Sean Crane. Today I want to get into Charlie Kirk's memorial. I want to share with you my thoughts, my reactions to seeing the event over the weekend. You know, it was pretty remarkable. Almost 300,000 people were in attendance. The president of the United States, the vice president, like the whole administration was there. And a lot of people spoke at his event. Tucker Carlson, uh, his wife spoke, Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica Kirk. And I was sitting there watching some of the clips that I saw on Twitter, um, X, and some other social media platforms, and I was pretty taken back seeing the amount of people that showed up to celebrate this man's life. You know, I can't help but think about, gosh, when I die, I hope I have, you know, a handful of people there or people thinking about the good that I did in this world and people that I've been able to impact. And I'm sure that, like for you, sitting back home, watching that event or seeing what's taking place, like you can't help but start thinking about what you're doing in your life right now that's going to impact other people's lives. Like legacy type stuff, right? Because when we're younger, we think about short-term goals. And then as you start to get older, a lot of people set business goals or they set three-year goals. One exercise that I like to do often, and it's something that I take my personal clients through who I mentor, is having them write their obituary or, you know, their legacy letter. Basically, what this is, is them thinking about the day that they are being celebrated, their memorial, uh, their funeral, whatever it is. Who's gonna show up for you? And what are they gonna say? What are they gonna remember you for? This is such a healthy exercise for us to all go through often because it really creates a finite, you know, um, end game type scenario in our minds, meaning there's no after that day, like there's no goals beyond that point. That's the end of your life. What did you do? You know, like I said, when you're younger, you think short term or maybe five, 10 years down the road. You're like, man, I really want to buy this house or I want to grow this business or I want to do this thing. But what about when it's all over? What are you gonna be remembered for? If you haven't sat down to do that exercise, I'd highly recommend that you do so. And if you want help going through that process, I actually have my unstoppable self-mastery guide. This is available on Amazon, and I'll actually give you a free copy. If you DM or comment the word down below, um, self-mastery guide, and just get a hold of me any way you can. Go on Instagram, go on Facebook, DM me, wherever you're seeing this stream. Uh, in this section, I have a whole you know front section that's based on goal setting, but not just goal setting, it's based on creating the ultimate vision for you and your life, a life by design, a life of meaning, a life of purpose. If you want to live a life like that, it doesn't happen by chance, you guys. You have to be very focused, very intentional, and you have to be consistent over time. And so if you want help going through that process of creating the ultimate vision for your life, how to create a powerful why that gives that vision, that life so much meaning to you and how to execute on it. I'm telling you, my self-mastery guide is gonna give you uh the framework to start getting clear on what that looks like for you. But again, going back to Charlie Kirk's memorial, man, it was really special. And I think the thing that stands out to the most to me is all the people that attended, I'd say most, you know, 98, 99% all held the same values. They all shared the same values and morals. And this is something very important to acknowledge because in our country right now, we're very fractioned. Meaning, you have people of different faiths, different ethnicities and races, like different beliefs. You have all these different cultures blended into one in the United States of America. And a question I'm asking myself right now is like, is that actually sustainable? Okay. Throughout the course of history, you've seen empires that got spread thin, you know, back in the day when they would colonize different parts of the world. Uh, you'd see, you know, like like England started calling, um, started colonies all over the place. They couldn't sustain, right? Same with the Roman Empire, they couldn't sustain. And the Roman Empire grew and grew and grew, and then you had all these different factions of people. So now you have different ideologies, different beliefs, even different skin colors and races coexisting. And, you know, it's it's curious to me, like, can that sustain? Meaning, can that many people, that that many, that amount of people with different beliefs, uh, can they coexist? And for how long? And what's that look like in a in a way that's harmonious and prosperous for everyone? I mean, America has done it for what, 200 years, but it hasn't been this diverse in the entire 200 years. You know, we're coming up on 250 years of freedom and independence. And in that time, it was mainly white people who were Christian. Okay, you had Mormons and you had Catholics, you had Jewish people, you had black people, you had, you know, Chinese, you had Mexicans, but there weren't as many of those other races in America. And now you see more and more uh today that there's an abundance of different belief systems, um, different races, different ethnicities, all condensed into this country. And we're seeing more and more polarization uh amongst these different belief systems. And now you have like the LGBTQ movement and the woke movement, and like that's a whole different uh ideology. So I was just sitting back reflecting as I watched Charlie Kirk's memorial, going, wow, like that seems just like such an amazing, peaceful place to be. Uh, everyone's there worshiping, you know, God and Jesus Christ. They're they're you know singing this beautiful gospel music. Everyone had their hands up and they're worshiping. And it just felt like even through the phone that I'm watching this and I talked to people that attended, it seemed very solemn, very peaceful. It felt like something powerful was taking place, like this uh this intervention, you know, this spiritual awakening. Um, and it just got me thinking, wow, like imagine if we could unite everyone in this country, despite skin color, despite you know, certain backgrounds or beliefs. What can we find the commonality to unite amongst, right? Like, is it just because we're all in the United States of America, we're all we well, we all believe in capitalism, not everyone does. We all want to prosper, we all want to have good lives. Like, what is that common theme, that that commonality that we can all center and unite upon? And this is something really important to recognize. Like, if you want to inspire people, if you want to change lives, if you want to create a movement, it's about being able to articulate a belief or a goal or a sentiment that other people can buy into that they can grab hold of. So, however, this applies to you, maybe you're starting a business, it's about your culture, right? Maybe you're starting a young family, it's the the values that you display, it's the rules that you have at home. It's like all of those things that you put in place is gonna keep people connected and keep them together. And I think in the United States, right now, we have not had that. I think, if anything, it's been like kind of like lawless, right? We, oh, you could be anything you want, you could believe in anything you want, um, but but that doesn't, that doesn't sustain, that doesn't last. We as human beings, we need structure and we need something to believe in and we need a truth, right? With meaning that gives our lives purpose. That's why organ uh organized religion and faith have been paramount and constant in society because it gave people something to believe in, to focus on, and it gave them values and morals to uphold. Uh, whether, you know, one country's belief system or you know, one religion or the other is right or wrong, that's almost irrelevant. The point is that we as human beings, we like structure, we like unity. We like to have something that we feel is real and truthful that we can focus on, that we can, that we can live out in our lives. And so we're kind of seeing this revival right now of Christianity, of nationalism in our country, of people wanting to to come together um and to make sure that we don't lose this great nation that we've all, you know, probably taken for granted because we don't know anything else, especially those of you who grew up in America. Um, but man, it's definitely something to reflect upon. Like, like, what is the missing piece here? And how can we all find unity, common unity, uh, despite religion, despite other belief systems that we all possess that we can come together on, you know? So I don't know. I was sitting there looking at Charlie Kirk's memorial. I was like, damn, I wish I was there. That just looks special. It looks like something that's just historic to be a part of. And I thought, wow, what a great legacy this guy's left behind. You know, um, it's just so incredible to see that many people who removed, that flew out there, that traveled across the United States just to go celebrate this man's life and to be in that stadium or be in proximity. You know, there was people standing outside of the stadium. Um, and it just shows you the power of human beings and the power that we all possess. We all have the ability to create a movement, uh, to go on a mission, to stand up for something that we believe in. You know, you have to have courage and conviction in this life. If you want to do something meaningful, you're gonna be tested. There will be resistance, there's gonna be enemies and evil forces opposing you and working against you. But if you can find something in your life that that you believe in that much that's that meaningful to you, is it worth dying for? Right? That's something that you gotta ask yourself. Like, do I do I have anything in my life that I would really die for? Do I have a cause or a mission that God put on my heart that I'd be willing to sacrifice my life for? And Charlie Kirk did, man. So I mean, my takeaway from the memorial is that human beings are powerful and we have the power to unite. We have the power to open people's minds, um, we have the power to create these movements in society. There's a radical shift taking place right now, you know, and and due large part to Charlie Kirk and his initiative going on these college campuses, speaking to these deranged youth who have been uh manipulated by the propaganda in those schools from their professors. Um, and it's a scary time for young people, but you know, we need more men who are willing to stand up and lead by example and not be cowards and not be quiet. And so if that's you listening back home, like my message is that you got to do your part, whatever that looks like for you in your life. You know, whether that's striving for personal excellence, it could be getting in control of your health, getting sober, being a better family man, starting the business you always want to start. Everybody has to do their part. You know, I put out a clip the other day, I think it was on Facebook or Instagram, that I was sharing how personal excellence is uh the key to success in your life. But that's also how you overcome adversity and how we can create a prosperous society is if we all strive for personal excellence every day and everything we do. And, you know, the next day I got a call from a guy and he's like, hey, I'm running for office, you know, my local district. And then I got a text message from one of my clients and he's like, I signed up for a hundred-mile run. I want to do that ultra marathon, inspire other people like I was inspired. That's what I'm talking about. Like, if we each strive for personal excellence and we each stand for something that we believe in, what, which is having a strong mind, a strong body, a strong spirit, being a good dad, being a good husband, uh starting a business and creating jobs for other people. Like, do your part. That's the moral of this message, right? Your part might not grow to be as big as a Charlie Kirk, but you know what? Each person's initiative is valuable. Each person's initiative is needed. Each person, right, inspires the next man, the next woman. And you don't know the ripple effect that's taking place. So, you guys, do your part, strive for personal excellence, look at what's going on in our society right now, and recognize we need strong leaders to step up and be examples for those around them.