Not sure if I like that title so much, but it harkens back to Buddhist thought and even Carlos Castenada, to keep death at your shoulder. But it
be more focused and fearless and motivated to do work that is crying out from your inner self.
“Did the work I did today really matter?”
Others I’ve met are incredibly successful at, vested in,
and highly compensated for their work, but over time they’ve grown
stagnant. They sense they have something more to give, but they can’t
quite put their finger on why they’re stuck in first gear.
This begs the obvious question: How do you set in motion a
course of action that will allow you to unleash your best, most
valuable work while you still can?
The marketplace is filled with (often simplistic and
unhelpful) platitudes about living a life of fulfillment, landing your
dream job, and discovering your purpose, but when you are in the midst
of the fray it can feel futile to think about anything other than
hitting your deadlines and chasing the next promotion. It’s easy to get
lost, and wake up many years later asking yourself, “Who am I, how did I
get here, and how do I go back?”
In my 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.’ One day, however, their tomorrows ran out.”
That day I went back to my office and I wrote down two
words 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.
My new book, “
Die Empty,”
is about cultivating the mind-set and the methods you need to unleash
your best work each day, and to increase the odds that, at the end of
your life, you will not regret how you spent your days. It lays out a
set of core beliefs that will help you be more purposeful in how you
approach your work. They are:
You have a unique contribution to make to the world.
This is not self-help mumbo jumbo; it’s the truth. You
possess a one-of-a-kind combination of passions, skills, and
experiences. There is something you bring to your work that no one else
could. If you relinquish that power, then it will never see the light of
day, and you will always wonder “what if?”
No one else can make your contribution for you.
Waiting for permission to act is the easy way out.
Everyone has to play the hand they’re dealt. This means that you can’t
make a habit of pointing fingers, blaming others, or complaining. As
painful as it can be, unfairness is baked into every aspect of life, and
to make a contribution and empty yourself of your potential, you have
to come to terms with it and refuse to be a victim.
Your contribution is not about you.
You cannot function solely out of a desire to be recognized for what you do. You may be
rewarded with accolades and riches for your work. You may also labor in
obscurity doing brilliant work your entire life. More likely, you’ll
fall somewhere in the middle. Cultivating a love of the process is the
key to making a lasting contribution.
Avoid comfort. It is dangerous.
If making a significant impact were easy, it would be
commonplace. It’s not common because there are many forces that lead to
stagnancy and mediocrity. Organizations often make it easy to settle in,
providing you with a good salary, a nice title, or a sense of
stability. But the love of comfort is often the enemy of greatness.
Greatness emerges when you consistently choose to do what’s right, even
when it’s uncomfortable.
Take a stand. Don’t shape-shift.
You are better positioned to make a contribution if you
align your work around your values. Don’t be a mirror, passively
reflecting the priorities of others. You must dig through the rubble to
the core principles that guide your life. Then commit to engaging your
work with a clean conscience. If you don’t stand for what you believe
in, you will eventually lose yourself in your work.
Your understanding of your “sweet spot” develops over time like film in a darkroom.
Too many people want to come out of the gate with a clear understanding of their life’s mission. There is no one thing
that you are wired to do, and there are many ways you can add value to
the world. However, these opportunities will only become clear over time
as you act, giving you clues as you experiment, fail, and succeed. You
have to try different things before you will begin to see noticeable
patterns.
You must plant seeds today for a harvest later.
What you plant today you reap tomorrow, or farther down
the road. You must structure your life around daily progress based on
what matters to you, building practices and activities that allow you to
plant new seeds each day, with the knowledge that you will eventually
see the fruits of your labor.
