live and die by
Verb
Meaning
live and die by (third-person singular simple present lives and dies by, present participle living and dying by, simple past and past participle lived and died by)
(idiomatic) Be completely reliant upon.
Examples
I have been so satisfied with the Christian religion that I have spent no time trying to find arguments against it. ... I am not afraid now that you will show me any. I feel that I have enough information to live and die by.
As all entrepreneurs know, you live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.
I beat Larry Holmes and George Foreman. I whupped Mike Tyson twice. I had my ear chewed off and spat on the ground in front of me. I've seen everything it is possible to see in boxing. I know this business better than anyone. So I live and die by my own decisions.
Obviously, I don't live and die by it, everything my horoscope says. But I feel like there's definitely something to it.
You kind of live and die by the serve.
Books don't live and die by awards. You don't listen to an Hector Lavoe album because it won some awards.