‘Tis the season for students to graduate and wonder what they’re going to do with the rest of their limited Mondays on the planet!

I decided to ask my business partner—the Grim Reaper—for his “words of wisdom” for the graduating Master of Applied Positive Psychology class at the University of Pennsylvania (i.e., my alma mater).

The Grim Reaper at a graduation ceremony? Now that’s a speech I’d attend. Black robe, maybe a little tasseled cap perched precariously on his skull? The scythe might be an odd accessory but so be it.

Grim offers the right blend of doom and encouragement (so, just like real life); let’s read what he’s dying to say (get it? Dying? I’m tired; give me this one):

Hello Graduates,

It’s me! Grim. The one you pretend isn’t waiting for you at the finish line. I’m surprisingly invested in your future. I’ve been watching you cram, cry, and conquer caffeine at levels that would kill most mortals—THE SHIT I’VE SEEN—and I’m impressed. Here are my four pieces of advice until we meet again one day:

1. Stop waiting.
If you’re planning to live your life “after the dust settles from school,” “once things slow down at work,” or “someday when it’s perfect”—spoiler: that day doesn’t exist. I’ve seen too many people save their joy like fine China, only to be buried with it still in the box. (Being buried with a bunch of plates and saucers isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.)

2. Make a mess.
Perfection is a myth. Regret is not. Fall in love with the wrong people (within reason; maybe avoid the meth-lab-start-up-entrepreneur type). Try jobs you’re unqualified for. Change your mind. The worst thing that can happen? Well, obviously me. But that’s inevitable. A bunch of Coulda Shoulda Wouldas at the end doesn’t have to be in the cards for you.

3. Legacy beats longevity.
You’re not here to last forever—you’re here to matter. So write the book. Hug your people. Send the text. Build something, break something, make someone laugh. You’ve got one life—leave it with fingerprints all over it.

4. Learn to die well by living fully.
I don’t mind being the villain—I was born with this impressive talent for life-snuffing. But I do hate showing up to a life half-lived. Make it hard for me to interrupt something extraordinary.

So go out there. Be brave. Be outlandish. Be a little reckless with your heart (again, minus the meth guys). Go for the gusto. Let life take your breath away (until the day I come calling and really do take your breath away). Go live like you mean it… until I come knocking.

—The Grim Reaper
(a.k.a., Your Final Academic Advisor)

(It’s obvious that this little guidance-counselor-session isn’t just for new graduates, right? It’s also for the rest of us—at any age, at any stage, in any town, with any background or bank balance or hair color? Okay, just making sure you weren’t reading this and thinking it didn’t apply to you because you didn’t walk awkwardly across a stage and get a diploma this month. I’m pretty sure the Reaper is as passionate about you living life as fully as he is with the fresh grad meat doing the same.)