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Ted Hagos
Ted Hagos

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Die Empty

My takeaways from "Die Empty", a book by Todd Henry;

There are three kinds of work; mapping, meshing and making.

  1. Mapping - Prioritizing, planning and setting of objectives
  2. Meshing - Sharpening the saw. This is an important determinant of long-term sucess. I'ts difficult to justify this because it's not tied directly to results
  3. Making - Performing work that actually crosses out the items in your todo list. This is "doing the work". You have a work product. Producing something of value

You need to be purposeful in engaging these three kinds of work. You need to do all three in order to succeed.

3 kinds of work

Also, always remember;

  • That your days are numbered and finite. Someday they will run out
  • Not to get used to comfort. It's good from time to time, but don't make it a way of life
  • Plant seeds today for a harvest later
  • Your body of work should reflect what's important to you
  • Mediocrity doesn't happen suddenly, it develops overtime; you probably got too comfortable, too complacent. You thought nothing would go wrong and you can stay in " the moment" forever. This can be a result of current successes being enjoyed e.g. a secured job (that sounded like an oxymoron, no job is ever secure). Look at it this way, nobody sets out to be mediocre, everybody dreamed and planned for rock star level success, then life happened
  • Define your battles wisely, and build your life around winning them

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