2 minute read

We often talk with clients about the importance of making time to reconnect and realign with their team and company’s mission and values – which is why we take our own advice and plan a retreat for Shoffers every year. For our 2019 retreat last week, we invited Todd Henry to share his words of wisdom. Todd is a speaker, published author and founder of Accidental Creative, a company that helps creative people and teams be prolific, brilliant and healthy.

Todd shared some great insights from his book, “Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day,” such as how mediocrity doesn’t happen overnight, it develops over time – and in order to confront it, you need to know what gets you there. He calls these the “7 Deadly Sins of Mediocrity” and they can resonate with anyone – whether you’re a creative professional or not. We’re sharing, with the hope that others might benefit from Todd’s teachings.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Mediocrity
  1. Aimlessness
    • We are all wired to drive a sense of meaning from our work. To help you do this [find your sense of meaning], you need to define your productive passion, which means using the platform you have today to accomplish what’s ultimately driving you.
  2. Busy Boredom
    • To combat boredom, you need to be fiercely curious.
    • We must train ourselves to be present and make time to “fill our well,” meaning being intentional about setting time aside to get inspired and absorb thoughts from others.
  3. Comfort
    • Comfort is the enemy of greatness.
    • In order to diverge from comfort, you need to be willing to share your own perspective and voice.
  4. Delusion
    • Are you being honest with yourself and who you really are? Ask someone you’re close to the question of “What am I doing that doesn’t seem like me?”
    • Succeeding is operating out of your core competency or sweet spot.
  5. Ego
    • There’s a difference between playing the victim and being victimized – playing the victim is a form of ego.
    • Be confidently adaptable.
  6. Fear
    • Are you artificially escalating perceived consequences? When you do, you become afraid to act.
  7. Guardedness
    • In order to truly grow, we need to reflect on who we are.
    • We all need a circle of people who will speak the truth to us and inspire us.

At the end of his talk, Todd encouraged us to strive to unleash our best work every day and to “die empty,” not taking our best work with us to the grave. We were inspired.

To learn more, visit ToddHenry.com.