Ego and career make most of us compete on an imaginary scoreboard. Once you realize that and remove yourself from it, life becomes beautiful, less of a compromise and allows you to do what you love.
Knowing that death will end whatever you've created makes you stop taking yourself that seriously and enjoy life and thrive. Life is a game but you can decide to which rules you want to play. And at the end it's game over for all of us - and I mean that in the best sense:
Fully embracing that fact is liberating and gives you the strength to focus on what truly matters to you.