Lewis HowesYour Personal 24/7 Greatness Coach

I bought a life-insurance policy...

24 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this personal anecdote, Lewis Howes recounts how, shortly after beginning to earn money, he purchased a life‑insurance policy intended for his future wife and children—people he had not yet met. He explains that he began making monthly premium payments that would continue for about fifteen years, driven by a vision of marriage and parenthood even though he didn’t know who his future spouse or children would be. He reflects on the seeming oddness of a young, healthy adult buying life insurance, questioning its immediate value, and ultimately frames the decision as an act of thinking beyond oneself—providing financial security for future beneficiaries rather than for himself. The story serves as a motivational illustration of long‑term financial responsibility, foresight, and altruistic planning.

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Right when I started making money, I bought my future wife and future kids a life insurance policy. And this may seem strange for a 20-something-year-old to buy a life insurance policy. And I told this to my wife Martha when we met. I said, just so you know, like, if we get married and if we have kids, I already was thinking about you 15 years ago when I made this decision to buy a life insurance policy for my future Wife and kids. And I've been depositing a check every single month for almost 15 years at that point for my future wife and kids, people that I didn't even know existed yet, people I didn't know who they were going to be. I didn't know I was going to be marrying Martha. I didn't know who she was at that time. I had no idea that would be my life. I didn't know I'd have twin girls. You know, I had a vision, I had dreamed that I would be married and have kids one day, but I didn't know who they were. I think it's Who, what, when, how many, I didn't know. And it was a decision that I made, even though at the time I was like, ah, you know, do I really need this? I'm so young, I'm so healthy. What's the point of this? You know, are these people going to value this? You know, I'm spending money on something that I will never benefit from. It's interesting, when you buy life insurance, you don't benefit from the money you're spending. Your kids and your wife or your beneficiaries do. So you're thinking outside of you for something greater than yourself.