As an entrepreneur, I often think about my legacy. I created an ethical will to share my values with my kids.

• Eric Becker is the founder and co-chairman of Cresset, a wealth management firm. • He's also a dad of three, including a daughter who died at the age of 21. • His new book focuses on how companies last 100 years or more.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eric Becker, author of "The Long Game: A Playbook of the World's Most Enduring Companies." It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was in my 40s, I became fascinated with the idea of an ethical will. It's not a financial document, but an ancient tradition in which a matriarch or patriarch passes their knowledge to future generations.

I spent two years writing the document, which I hoped to eventually share with my three kids. I included a bit of family history, like the fact that my grandfather used t