Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day Paperback – April 28, 2015

A disclaimer is in order. I have been a Todd Henry enthusiast since I read his first book, The Accidental Creative: How to be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice. His regular podcast is on my weekly "must listen to" list. I was thrilled when I heard the title and theme of his second book. I'm what business guru, Ken Blanchard, calls a "raving fan" of Todd's work. Admittedly, I'm biased not just because we share the same first name.Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day is about how we can unleash our best work each day and increase the odds that we won't regret the work we've done when we come to the end of our life. It's about living full so we can die empty.What I like most about Todd's writing is his courage. He doesn't hesitate to call out the fluffy platitudes that we are fed in too many business and career books. He doesn't shy away from saying that success and our best work will require effort and self-discipline. Those two things go against the grain of our comfort driven culture. I was practically cheering out loud when he said, "You cannot pursue comfort and greatness at the same time."One popular fallacy Todd takes on that resonated with me was, "The Passion Fallacy." We are told countless times to just "follow your passion" and the money will follow you. Besides the obvious impracticality of this advice, (How many of us actually do get paid for playing video games all day?) Todd points out that it is a selfish approach to finding meaningful work. Eventually the passion dies down and we are left searching for a different obsession.A better approach is asking, "What value can I add?" instead of "What can I get?" When we pose the question this way, it correctly reminds us that we are not the center of the world. We know that when we are the center of our own world, it's a very small world...after all.Another example of Todd's courage occurs in the chapter titled, "Finding Your Voice," which tackles discovering our unique expression of value through our life's journey. He challenged me when he wrote, "Great work results when you stop doing only what you know you can do and instead begin pursuing what you believe you might be able to do with a little focused effort." In the infamous words of television character Barney Stinson (Played by Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother), "Challenge accepted!"Todd's writing tone is one we would find from a buddy who is sitting across the table having coffee with us. It's friend to friend encouraging conversation rather than top down pronouncements. In addition, his stories are nicely balanced with practical applications and probing questions at the end of every chapter.This is the type of book I can see myself rereading on a yearly basis to keep myself on track in fulfilling my life's mission.The message of the book is simply stated: "Don't go to your grave with your best work still inside of you. Choose to die empty."May that be true for us all.

When I first saw the title of this book, I thought....What the heck. I think when many of us read anything that relates to death, we get a bit squeamish, and a title that reads "Die Empty." What is that all about?! The title at first almost turned me off. I am so glad I ended up purchasing the book. As you can see I rated it a well-deserved 5 star rating.The thing that grabbed me was in the beginning about what land was the most valuable land. I guess one can think of varied answers to that, but the one that hits the soul is "The most valuable land 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 sure hits home.Well, this book helps us toward the clarity we need to have so that we die empty, without anything left needing to be done yet that we really had hoped to accomplish in this life. It is not about getting everything done today either.It is about getting your best work out there, and making progress each day on things that matter. It guides us toward tackling the goals that we really want to tackle. The author of the book helps us separate the goals of what is most important. We are reminded that each of us has a unique contribution to make to the world and no one else can make that contribution but you....and your contribution is NOT about you. Not about you? How can that be? Well, read the book to find out.But, it does give guidance so that you find the truthful and helpful answers to questions like.... Why you feel intimidated? What resonates with you? What complicates your life? How do you clarify your objectives?The book helps you in redefining success (and failure). It puts you on the right track.You know, I cannot state all the benefits you will gain by reading this book. There are just too many to list.Is the book worth purchasing? You bet it is. I highly recommend it. Once you start reading it, you will not want to put it down till the last page. There is a part in the book that reads "Don't Hold Out On Us." Well, don't Hold out on yourself.....find out what "Don't Hold Out On Us" is about.......... and, read the book.

I really wanted to love this book. But I didn’t. I was hoping that it would be more holistic than it was. If you’re very focussed on having your career, or business at the centre of your life, then it’s a great book. Lots of interesting chewy questions to find better ways to get ahead, do better, etc. But in the end, for me, that’s not enough for a beautiful life. And no-one ever died wishing they’d had better conversations with work colleagues or built a better company. In short, I wanted more ‘life’ from this book and it didn’t deliver.