Don’t Die Full of Your Best Work
In my (Todd Henry) first book, The Accidental Creative, I recounted a meeting in which a friend asked a strange and unexpected question: “What do you think is the most valuable land in the world?”
Several people threw out guesses, such as Manhattan, the oil fields of the Middle East, and the gold mines of South Africa, before our friend indicated that we were way off track. He paused for a moment, and said, “You’re all wrong. The most valuable land in the world is the graveyard. In the graveyard are buried all of the unwritten novels, never-launched businesses, unreconciled relationships, and all of the other things that people thought, ‘I’ll get around to that tomorrow.’ Once day, however, their tomorrows ran out.”
That day I went back to my office and I wrote down two words in my notebook and on the wall of my office that have been my primary operating ethic for the last several years: Die Empty. I want to know that if I lay my head down tonight and don’t wake up tomorrow, I have emptied myself of whatever creativity is lingering inside, with minimal regrets about how I spent my focus, time, and energy. This doesn’t happen by accident; it takes intentional and sustained effort. But I can say with confidence from my own experience and the experiences of others I’ve worked with that the effort is well worth it.
If there is one overriding goal of this book (Die Empty) it is this: to bring a newfound clarity and sense of urgency to how you approach your work on a daily basis, and over your lifetime. I hope to help you lock onto a focused understanding of what’s really important and help you make a commitment to chase after it with gusto rather than simply settling in for the ride.
What Die Empty Does Mean
- Your days are numbered–finite–someday they will ran out
- You have a unique contribution to make to the world
- No one else can make your contribution for you
- Your contribution is not about you
- Avoid comfort–it is dangerous
- Take a stand–don’t shape-shift
- Your understanding of your “sweet spot” develops over time like film in a darkroom
- You must plant seeds today for a harvest later
The cost of inaction is vast. Don’t go to your grave with your best work inside you. Choose to die empty.
* Source: Die Empty by Todd Henry