The Family Creed
Codify what your family stands for and how its members handle recurring choices
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
A Family Creed turns inherited values into an explicit operating document. Sacca and his wife were inspired by Rich and Sarah Barton's written account of what it means to be a Barton. Their own process begins with identity and legacy: what the family stands for and what the children should retain if the parents disappeared. It then moves from aspiration to recurring behavior, covering communication, making up after fights, and decision-making. The document also records costly lessons, such as discovering that buying houses for relatives turned the couple into property managers. Those examples explain why a rule exists instead of presenting values as abstractions. The children ultimately join the conversation, allowing the creed to become shared, teachable family memory rather than a private manifesto imposed by the parents.
Origin
Rich and Sarah Barton wrote what it means to be a Barton; their example prompted Chris Sacca and Crystal English Sacca to begin codifying their own family creed.
Core principles
- 01Values become transferable when they are made explicit.
- 02A creed should explain behavior, not merely list virtues.
- 03Hard-earned lessons can be passed on even when children did not experience the hardship.
- 04The family should help shape the document rather than inherit a frozen proclamation.
How to run it
- 1
Define family identity
Ask what it means to belong to the family and which qualities should survive changing circumstances.
Pro tip Use concrete language that family members can recognize in everyday behavior.
Watch out Do not confuse status, wealth, or achievement with identity.
- 2
Write the legacy test
Describe what you would want the children to know about who the parents were and how the family arrived here if the parents were gone tomorrow.
Pro tip Preserve the reasoning behind important beliefs, not only the conclusions.
Watch out A list of polished virtues will not transmit the experience that formed them.
- 3
Codify recurring behavior
Record how family members want to communicate, repair fights, and make decisions.
Pro tip Focus on situations the family repeatedly encounters.
Watch out Values without behavioral guidance are difficult to apply during conflict.
- 4
Add lessons from mistakes
Include experiences that changed how the family thinks about money, ownership, responsibility, or relationships.
Pro tip Explain both the original intention and the unintended consequence.
Watch out Removing uncomfortable history strips the creed of useful causal evidence.
- 5
Make it a family conversation
Bring the children into the document and revisit it as their understanding and the family's circumstances change.
Pro tip Treat the creed as a living conversation rather than a finished artifact.
Watch out A parent-only decree is less likely to become shared family knowledge.
In the wild
After making money, Sacca and his wife bought houses and paid mortgages for relatives as a gesture of gratitude. They later realized that ownership made them property managers and consumed their attention. Recording that experience in the creed preserves both the generous intention and the lesson that possessions create continuing obligations.
→ A financial story becomes a reusable family lesson about ownership and responsibility.
Common mistakes
Writing only abstract virtues
A creed becomes more useful when it states how people communicate, decide, and recover after conflict.
Hiding the formative mistakes
Later generations need the empirical story behind a lesson, especially when they did not experience the original hardship.
Excluding the children forever
The creed should develop into a family conversation so it reflects shared understanding rather than only the parents' voice.
Is it for you?
Best for
Parents and families who want a practical shared account of identity, communication, decisions, money, and conflict repair.
Not ideal for
Families seeking a one-time slogan without willingness to discuss difficult experiences or revise the document together.
From the transcript
“what does it mean to be a Barton and like that exercise alone is so powerful”
“what do we stand for if we were gone tomorrow what would we want our kids to take away from who we were how we…”
“we cover everything in there how we would like to communicate how Crystal and I think about making up after a fight how we think…”
From the episode
#790: Chris Sacca — How to Succeed by Living on Your Own Terms and Getting Into Good Trouble
Chris Sacca