> When you die you take absolutely nothing with you except your reputation.
The opposite. When you die, you don't take anything material with you. No money, no assets, nothing. Your own personal experience dies with you as well.
The only thing that doesn't die is how people will remember you.
It's also a hidden paradox. You might aim for widespread fame and acclaim, yet totally forget about the people closest to you who might end up not having a high opinion of how you acted towards your goals.
In a sense, a better way of approaching reputation is as a by-product or a secondary goal to what you pursue. Your primary goal would be: how do I make a positive impact on the world around me? First and foremost, my own community?
> A disguise for what?
It's a bait and switch: them trying to make their priorities, your priorities. The urgency itself is the bait: it's an appeal towards your empathy as well as your desire to act from your gut/instincts (we are bad at instinctively guestimating opportunity cost) rather then sit back and figuring out the bigger picture.
Context matters, and so this gets sometimes obscured by a lot of tangential circumstances. For instance, it's easier to see this one through if the caller is a stranger rather then a friend or acquaintance, or even someone who comes at you from a point of authority such as a business partner, your boss or someone who is either wealthy or owns an experience you desire yourself.
After all, it's a proposal. An invitation. Not an order or a command made from a place of authority.