ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What do you do with the hole left behind when someone you love dies? Brian Floriani planted a seed in it.
Brian is the founder of Bernie's Book Bank, a literacy nonprofit he named after his father Bernie who passed away in 2005 on the same day as his Grandma. Brian delivered two eulogies in one day, and it left him thinking about what his own eulogy might say one day and what that meant about his purpose and how he lived his life.
What started as a dream to make books and literacy more accessible has grown into a metro-scale children's book bank model now serving 315,000 children across Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Florida Suncoast.. To date, Bernie’s Book Bank has placed 31 million books into the homes of under-resourced children. The goal: 20 million children served annually by 2045.
Brian is also the founder of Buku Branded, a social enterprise that uses branded products to fund literacy work, giving 100% of profits to literacy causes across the country.
Brian’s perspective on finding purpose and how to carry a massive mission without letting it carry you is one I believe every leader needs to hear.
In this episode, we explore:
- How losing his father and grandmother on the same day in 2005 redirected his entire life
- Why eulogies aren't about success, they're about significance, and the three questions Brian asked himself that changed everything
- The dark side of chasing legacy when identity gets tangled up in the mission
- How Brian navigated stepping back from leading the organization he founded
- His brother Little Bernie's final words before choosing to end his life on a ventilator, and what they reveal about the only real choice any of us have
Connect with Brian:
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brianfloriani
- Website: berniesbookbank.org
Connect with me, Clay:
- Website: https://15sixty.com/
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer
🎵 Music License: CMUVN6N0WHFMBOOL
