Nothing in life is promised except death.

“Nothing in life is promised except death.” — so spoke Kanye West, a poet of the modern age, whose words, though born from the world of rhythm and fame, strike at an ancient and unchanging truth. Beneath their sharp simplicity lies a wisdom older than the pyramids, a reminder that all human striving, all dreams, all glories, rest upon a fragile foundation. Death is the only promise kept by life. Everything else — wealth, love, success, even health — is uncertain, fleeting, and subject to the turning of fate’s wheel.

The origin of these words can be found in the song “Never Let Me Down” from Kanye’s first great work, The College Dropout. It was a moment when his music still carried the urgency of faith and the raw hunger of self-discovery. In that verse, he speaks of struggle, of purpose, of divine calling — yet amidst it all, he utters this sober truth: “Nothing in life is promised except death.” In those few words, he stripped away illusion. For though he sang amid fame’s rising tide, he knew that no crown, no applause, no dream, could change the final law of existence — that all who live must one day return to dust. It is not despair he speaks, but awakening.

This truth has echoed through the ages. The ancient Stoics of Rome taught that the man who remembers death each morning will live each day with gratitude and courage. They called it memento mori — “remember you must die.” Not as a curse, but as a compass, guiding them toward what truly matters. For those who deny death become slaves to fear and vanity, but those who accept it become free. Kanye’s words, though spoken in the modern tongue, echo this same eternal principle: that by facing the one certainty, we learn how to live without illusion.

Consider the life of Alexander the Great, conqueror of the world before his thirtieth year. He crossed deserts, defeated empires, and believed himself touched by gods — yet even he, in the end, lay upon his deathbed, whispering that his greatest lesson was that no man, no matter how mighty, can command tomorrow. His empire crumbled, his name endured, but his breath — that spark of mortality — fled like smoke. Death was the only promise kept. Yet it is through that acceptance that his deeds still teach us: do not wait to live, for the hour is never promised.

Kanye West, like the ancient seers, wove the tension between mortality and purpose into his art. In a culture that glorifies comfort and denies endings, his words break through the noise with stark clarity. “Nothing in life is promised” — therefore, do not wait for perfect moments. Do not waste years on bitterness or pride. The only thing you are owed is the chance to breathe this day, to act this hour, to love while the light still burns. All else is a gift, not a guarantee. Those who live as if tomorrow is certain will die with regret; those who live as if today were sacred will die fulfilled.

And yet, there is hope even in the shadow of this truth. For if death is certain, then meaning is our response to it. The brevity of life gives power to each choice we make. The mother who holds her child, the artist who creates beauty, the laborer who works with dignity — all defy oblivion by the act of living fully in the face of it. This is the hidden power in Kanye’s words: he does not mourn the finality of life; he challenges us to rise within it, to carve purpose from the fleeting.

So, my listener, take this truth to heart: nothing is promised — not success, not love, not tomorrow. But because nothing is promised, everything is precious. Live as the Stoics, as the warriors, as the poets did: aware of your end, yet unafraid. Speak the words that matter. Do the work that endures. Hold close those you love, for the bell will one day toll for all. And when that day comes, may you greet it not with fear, but with peace — knowing that you lived wide and deep, that you spent your brief time not in waiting, but in being.

For this is the lesson of the ancient and the modern alike: Death is the only promise life will keep, but in that promise lies the reason to live bravely. Let this truth not sadden you, but awaken you. For only those who accept the certainty of death learn to truly cherish the miracle of being alive.