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MIND5

Marcelo Baldin
In MIND

Create. Share. Yield.

A Meaningful Life

Derek Sivers said “Die Empty” (which is actually a book by Todd Henry).^1
Bill Perkins has a book named “Die with Zero”.^2
Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf coined the motto “Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten,” a pietist way of living for missionaries. ^3

Todd aimed to live fully and create everything possible with his lifetime, being productive. Perkins’ book aims to help people enjoy their earnings rather than let them sit idle as useless cash. However, Nikolaus’ message was to live for a cause that extends beyond one’s life.

What can we achieve if we combine all of them? A meaningful life. Maybe a bit of what Viktor Frankl’s^4 work was about, but it’s really what the Bible has been preaching all along.

Let’s do a mental exercise. For example:

1. Die Empty – Living Fully & Using Your Gifts

These verses encourage pouring out your talents, energy, and life for God’s purposes:

  • 2 Timothy 4:6-7 – “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
  • Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
  • Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the Talents) – calls us to invest what’s entrusted to us, not to bury it.
  • John 9:4 – “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

2. Die with Zero – Enjoying & Sharing God’s Provision

Scripture teaches that blessings are meant to be enjoyed and shared generously, not hoarded:

  • Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 – “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”
  • 1 Timothy 6:17-18 – “Command those who are rich…to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
  • Luke 12:33-34 – “Sell your possessions and give to the poor…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
  • Proverbs 11:24-25 – “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”

3. Be Forgotten – Living for God’s Glory, Not Our Fame

These verses remind us that the goal is to glorify God, not ourselves:

  • John 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
  • Galatians 6:14 – “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
  • Matthew 6:1-4 – “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them…your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
  • Psalm 115:1 – “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
  • Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

What if we blended these three ideas into a single vision for living?

  • Die Empty – exhaust your gifts, leave nothing undone that your heart calls you to create.
  • Die with Zero – savor your resources while you’re alive; don’t hoard what could have been joy or generosity.
  • Be Forgotten – don’t cling to legacy or fame; let your life point to something larger than yourself.

Together, they outline a counter-cultural but liberating path:
Live fully, give fully, and release the need to be remembered.
You pour out your talents and your wealth for meaningful work and for people you love, and you do it in service of something transcendent—whether that’s your faith, humanity, or the next generation.

This aligns with Viktor Frankl’s insight that humans thrive when a purpose beyond pleasure or power guides their lives. It’s also ancient wisdom echoed in Scripture: “Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

A possible summary mantra could be:

Create what only you can create.
Share what you have while you can.
Then step aside so the story isn’t about you.

That’s a life well-spent—productive, joyful, and meaningful, all at once.

Marcelo Baldin
In MIND

The Paradox of Connection

We live in a paradoxical time.

Social media has brought an enormous leap in connectivity between people. It eliminated intermediaries that once controlled information and democratized areas that used to be dominated by gatekeepers.
At the same time, it has brought intense side effects: it has amplified extremes, fueled aggression, and heightened anxiety. The neurological consequences are already felt on a global scale.

On the other hand, if we try to restrain the freedom that the internet has given us, we face another problem. We become even more vulnerable to control by governments and conglomerates, often without even realizing what is happening around us. This leaves us with two options:

- remain unaware and be run over by events, suffering the consequences of ignorance;

- or stay connected, but at the cost of neurosis.

Some may argue that a similar phenomenon occurred when television became accessible to the masses. But the intensity now is incomparable.

We can consider adopting methods suggested by authors such as Cal Newport, Jaron Lanier, and Neil Postman. Their proposals aim to reduce the impact of data overload without letting us be completely consumed by it. Yet, they often leave us somewhat detached, reliant on intermediaries.

Furthermore, almost none of these works address two crucial issues today: the Dead Internet Theory and Artificial Intelligence.

Until we find a solution, we continue to walk a tightrope—balanced between anguish and ignorance.

Marcelo Baldin
In MIND

Signal to Noise

The most valuable thing I’ve gained from stepping away from social media is this: We are constantly bombarded by noise. It clouds our thoughts, weakens our attention, and pushes us toward the average — the easiest opinions, the quickest reactions, the loudest takes. In that flux, clarity is rare, and poor decisions become routine.

Some contemporary composers, as well as cultural thinkers more broadly, suggest that noise can be embraced and even enjoyed. But that can only be true if there’s a cognitive pattern behind it — something that offers structure, something we can think with. Without that, there is no line of thought to follow. Noise, in this sense, is anything that resists contemplation.

Noise is the overflow of misinformation. It’s not just distortion — distraction, excess, and the dilution of meaning. It floods the mind with stimuli but offers no shape, direction, or pause for reflection.

Unless we train ourselves to listen through the noise, to filter and focus, we risk becoming passive receivers. We hear everything, yet absorb nothing. In a world saturated with sound and signal, the ability to truly listen may be the most essential discipline we can cultivate.

Marcelo Baldin
In MIND

Silence

“Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation.” – misattributed to Ludwig van Beethoven.

To get inspired, we must find a way to be quiet. Countless people retreat to reflect and recover. Lent is an ideal time to do it. Beethoven took long walks in nature to develop musical ideas. Claude Debussy – Found inspiration in the quiet contemplation of nature. Henry David Thoreau – Lived in solitude at Walden Pond to connect with deeper insights. Max Richter – Uses silence and minimalism as core elements in his music, often retreating into solitude for composition. Arvo Pärt – Known for his “tintinnabuli” style, he spent years in near silence before returning to composition. Björk – Frequently isolates herself in nature for inspiration, especially in Iceland’s quiet landscapes.

Lamentations 3:26 🤫

Marcelo Baldin
In MIND

Pain

Pain reminds us that we have a limited and finite body, but it should also remind us that we are not our body; we only have a body. We are spirits, but if we think we are only a body, we will enter into continuous despair, suffocated by materialism, immediacy, and the anguish of avoiding discomfort. The awareness of who we are frees us from this finitude.

Once we are free of this conception of finitude, we can truly aspire to things greater than us. This can be reflected in the Zeitgeist; those who aim for trends are often stuck in their immediacy, whereas those who strive for superior aesthetics create timeless art, societal, or scientific pieces. This thought frees us from thinking only about our egos and allows us to live as a whole. Struggling to create is part of the process; it shouldn’t be avoided.