New Tips And Triks For You

Todd Henry is the author of The Accidental Creative, founder of Accidental Creative and the author of the new book, Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day. He regularly speaks and consults with companies, both large and small, about how to develop practices and systems that lead to everyday brilliance. Todd's work has been featured by Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes, HBR.org, US News & World Report, and many other major media outlets. His company helps creative people and teams generate brilliant ideas.

In this interview, Todd talks about why people delay their work, why you shouldn't be comfortable in what you currently do and always challenge yourself, how to prevent boredom and more.

Die Empty is the message that's been burning in my bones for about a decade. I get to work with a lot of great companies and speak at a lot of conferences, and the one-on-one questions that I get from people more than any other are about how they have a deep, nagging sense that they aren't getting around to the really valuable work they know they're capable of. Their current body of work doesn't represent what they truly care about, and they want to take steps toward correcting it. (I define work, by the way, as any place we add value, so it includes things like relationships, family, and self-development.)

We live with the stubborn illusion that we will always have tomorrow to act on today's priorities, but it's untrue. Every day we choose to push our deeper intuitions and ambitions into the future is a missed opportunity to contribute as only we are capable. Unfortunately, for many people this means taking their best work to the grave with them, and in my opinion that's a tragedy.

In Die Empty, I share the key places where I've seen brilliant, capable people get stuck in a holding pattern, and some strategies for countering those forces through decisive action. The goal is to unleash that brilliant work today so that you die empty of regret about the body of work you've built.

We often push action into the future because we can't see the next steps. We'd rather act on something concrete and with an immediate payoff than risk a lot of energy and effort on something that might not work out as planned. As a result, we "settle in" over time and go for the quick win at the expense of the long-term value we're capable of generating. There's nothing wrong with strategically mitigating risk, but brilliant bodies of work are built by those who are willing to take the small, calculated risks necessary to take new ground. Safety is an illusion, because if you're not moving into new territory, learning new skills, and progressing in asking better questions, you will eventually be replaced by someone who is.

I believe that the love of comfort is frequently the enemy of greatness in life and work. Comfort and brilliant work are mutually exclusive objectives. Those who want to build a brilliant body of work will eventually have to choose between doing the comfortable thing, and doing the best thing. That doesn't mean that you can't experience comfort as a by-product of your work, of course. It means only that you can't make comfort your chief objective, or you will eventually compromise your best work. However, comfort is seductive.

If you compromise enough times, it adds up to a less-than-optimal life. Mediocrity isn't chosen once, it's the result of a series of small, everyday decisions over time. Thus, we have to stay on-guard against the siren song of comfort, delusion, ego, and other forces that cause us to compromise our contribution.

I believe that boredom is a good thing! It's a sign from your mind that you're ready for something new. However, the problem is that many people succumb to the numbness of boredom, and instead of taking it as a cue to stoke the fires of their curiosity, they fill the lull with entertainment or something that gives them a ping and stays the boredom. These are people I call the "busily bored". They are very active, but they aren't asking good questions or pursuing their natural curiosity.

To unleash your best work, you must be aware of your deeper questions, and dedicate time and resources in your life to pursuing them. This is a key way that great contributors become even more skilled, more valuable in the workplace, and more satisfied with their own work.