Summary in Seconds: different types of work: mapping, making, and meshing, exploring the story of Sixto Rodriguez, how society’s perception of our work impacts us.
The key message conveyed by Tod Henry in “Die Empty” is that our days are finite, but each of us can still make a valuable impact on the world during our lifetime. Mr. Henry encourages us to pursue our ambitious goals and empty ourselves of our creative potential. However, he warns against expecting recognition for our “work.” Mr. Henry’s advice is to focus on doing the “work” without expecting others to recognize its value because recognition is not what makes our “work” meaningful.
Todd Henry defines “work” as everything you do because it is important to you. In a nutshell, “work” is what you do to create value where it did not exist before. Mr. Henry depicts three types of work: mapping, making, and meshing. He adds that most people usually focus on two of these “work” types and ignore the third.
According to Mr. Henry, mapping is planning what you intend to do, making is doing the work itself, and meshing is what you may call ‘work between work’ (acquiring new skills, broadening your abilities in your trade and even beyond — it is any activities you do to help you grow). The person who focuses equally on all three types of work has, according to Mr. Henry, a ‘developer mindset’ which the writer urges us to strive for. Most of us, however, fall into one of following three mindset categories:
First: the “driver mindset,” focuses on mapping and making and ignores meshing. Mr. Henry said that people with the driver mindset are narrowly competent only in their field, and they are generally unable to take advantage of available opportunities. Those with the driver mindset have the will and determination but they never fully exploit their full potentials.
Second: the “drifter mindset,” focuses on making and meshing and forgets mapping. Those among us with this mindset, according to Mr. Henry, walk around without a map or a plan and they end up missing many opportunities.
Third: the “dreamer mindset,” focuses on meshing and mapping and ignores making. According to the author of “Die Empty,” dreamers are obsessed with ideas and self-improvement and personal growth but they lack the ability to work hard enough to achieve their dreams.
For those among us who question the impact of their “work” on others, the author of “Die Empty” tells the story of singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez released several songs in the 1970s in the United States but never reached stardom. During this period and on the other side of the world, his songs were so successful that he became a cult-icon in the southern part of Africa. His fans in South Africa thought that he had passed away. Mr. Rodriguez went on to live a quiet life in Detroit not knowing of his huge popularity in South Africa. When his fans in South Africa realized that he was still alive, they invited him to visit their country and to sing in live concerts.
Living a quiet life in the United States, Mr. Rodriguez remained oblivious to the profound impact his music had on people halfway across the globe. It was not until his devoted South African followers realized that he was alive that he realized how his “work” touched the lives of many people thousands of miles away.
We may not always know the full impact of our work on others and may never even realize it while we are still alive. Here, Todd Henry asks, if Sixto Rodriguez had not won the recognition of his fans, would that have diminished the impact of his songs? Your work may not have a pivotal role in someone’s life somewhere in the world; however, you can always work without expectations because recognition is not the only thing that renders value to your work.