Derek Sivers podcast

You have something you want to change: a thought process or habit you want to fix. Let’s use the metaphor of a bunch of bricks on a seesaw. Right now all the bricks are stacked on one side. This is the way you have been. To make a change, most people don’t do enough. If you do something small and sensible, it’s like moving one brick to the other side. You’re still unbalanced. You think you made th...

You would think this would be a basic life skill, but it seems almost nobody knows it, so please spread the word. When someone gives you a compliment, what should you do? Do you say, “What? No! Not at all. That’s ridiculous.” Do you give details of why you disagree? That’s what most people do. They refuse it. They deny it. But think of how inconsiderate that is. It takes courage to give you a comp...

About once a month, someone asks for my mailing address because they want to send me something. They liked something I wrote, and want to send me a gift in return. I’m very thankful, but have to say no. Here’s why. I live in a little pre-furnished apartment with no stuff, and I love it this way. I have no books, knicknacks, decorations, and really no personal items at all. Just some minimal clothi...

Life is like any journey. You need to change directions a few times to get where you want to go. Early in your career, the best strategy is to say yes to everything. The more things you try, and the more people you meet, the better. Each one might lead to your lucky break. Then when something is extra-rewarding, it’s time to switch strategies. Focus all of your energy on this one thing. Don’t be l...

A few years ago, I lived in Santa Monica, California, right on the beach. There’s a great bike path that goes along the ocean for seven and a half miles. So, fifteen miles round trip. On weekday afternoons, it’s almost empty. It’s perfect for going full speed. So a few times a week, I’d get on my bike and go as fast as I could for the fifteen-mile loop. I mean really full-on, 100 percent, head-dow...

Steven Pressfield called himself an author for years, but he’d never actually finished a book. Eventually, the psychological pain of not finishing kept building until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He decided to finally beat the devil he calls “The Resistance”. He created a situation with no escape. He rented a cabin, brought his typewriter, and shut off all other options. He said, “I didn’t talk t...

The last time I was in really bad state of mind, I used these five steps to get out of it. I’ve shared this with a few friends in a similar situation, and they said it helped. I hope it works for you too. 1. Ask myself what’s wrong in this very second. Am I in physical pain or danger? No. I’ve got mental pain, but that’s just me imagining things or remembering things. None of it is real. If I put...

Most of the time, I feel smart, successful, and driven — like I’ve got it all figured out. But last month a bunch of stuff knocked me on my ass. I’ve never felt so wrong. I vulnerably called on friends for help. They gave me a bunch of good advice, and helped me see things from a new point of view. Each different perspective made me feel good for a while. Then I fell back into the whirlpool of des...

Your business is secure. Even if it’s not, you have to feel that it is. Money is coming your way. You are doing well. You are one of the lucky ones. Most are not so fortunate. You can afford to be generous. All great service comes from this feeling of generosity and abundance. Think of all the examples of great service you’ve encountered: free refills of coffee, letting you use the toilets even if...

Customer service often starts when someone has a problem, and is upset. When you feel attacked, it’s hard not to fight back, especially when you know they’re wrong. But the best thing to do is to lose the fight. Let them know that they were right, and the company was wrong. Tell them you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to make them happy again. If you catch yourself about to say or write somet...

Probably only 1% of your potential customers ever bother to contact you. So when they do, it’s your time to shine. Three minutes spent talking with them is going to shape their impression of your company more than your name, price, design, or features all combined. This is your shining moment to be the best you can be — to blow them away with how cool it was to contact you. If your customer servic...

I was honestly surprised that CD Baby was such a runaway success. But I was even more surprised to find out why. Whenever I was out at events, I’d listen as musicians would tell other musicians why they chose CD Baby. Was it the pricing? The features? Nope. The top reason, by far, was this: “They pick up the phone! They reply to my emails! You can talk to a real person!” Who could have guessed? De...

Be careful when you say you like or dislike something, because you could change your mind soon. The first time I heard Tom Waits’s music, when he was a guest on David Letterman , I thought it was so horrible that it must be a joke. Even years later, when I heard him again, I hated his music passionately. But then I heard his cover version of the Cole Porter song “It’s All Right With Me”, and loved...

You know that feeling you have after a big meal? When you’re so full that you don’t want anything more? Ever wonder what that would feel like in other parts of your life? We do so many things for the attention, to feel important or praised. But what if you had so much attention and so much praise that you couldn’t possibly want any more? What would you do then? What would you stop doing? We do so...

Imagine that I’m going to auction a $100 bill. The bidding starts at $1. The regular rules of auctions apply with one change: if you are the second-highest bidder, you don’t get the $100 bill but you still have to pay what you bid. OK? Go. I get bids for $1, $2, $3. Why not? Someone might win $100 for only $3! But the bids keep coming. Once they get to $99, the person offering $98 thinks, “Uh oh....

You know that song you love that you wish you’d written? Copy it. You know that existing business that you wish you had thought of? Copy it. Why? Because we’re imperfect mirrors. Like a funhouse mirror that distorts what it reflects, your imitation will turn out much different from the original. Maybe even better. When a musician covers someone else’s song, they reveal their own warped perspective...

Yesterday I procrastinated, tinkered, and wasted time, doing nothing of any value. Then this morning, I found out that one of my best friends died yesterday. He was out on a bike ride on a quiet street when a car swerved into the bike lane, killing him instantly . We shared my online music account. I see he had just downloaded the entire Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young catalog yesterday before he...

Some people are into money. Some aren’t. Some people are inspired by helping the needy. Some aren’t. Some people are into fame, power, and prestige. Others are into anonymity and freedom from responsibility. People have different preferences in different parts of their lives. Famous online, but anonymous in their neighborhood. Generous with time, but stingy with money. Introvert when working, but...

The word “inspiration” usually means “something that mentally stimulates you.” But “inspiration” also means to breathe in . The meanings poetically combine when you think of yourself breathing in thoughts, filling your body with ideas. But don’t forget to breathe out. People surf the web, reading pithy articles, looking for inspiration. People listen to hours of podcasts, looking for inspiration....

The listening algorithm A year after I started CD Baby, when it was still just me in my bedroom, the CEO and VP of a hugely-funded Silicon Valley online music company contacted me, saying they wanted to fly out to New York to meet me. I said OK, and we met a week later for dinner. Dinner was a lot of blah blah blah smalltalk, and I wondered what they really wanted. Then they finally got to the rea...

I used to get mad at people. They lied. They betrayed me. They disappeared. Do you hear the pattern? “They this. They that.” When someone upsets you, it’s human nature to feel it’s their fault. But one day I tried thinking of everything as my fault. I created the environment that made them feel they had to lie. I mistook their neutral behavior as betrayal. I made it more appealing for them to disa...

You can focus your time locally or globally. If you’re local, you focus on your community, doing things in-person. But this means you have less time to focus on the rest of the world. If you’re global, you make things for the whole world. But this means you have less time to be part of your local community. Neither approach is right or wrong, but you need to be aware of the trade-off. I lived in W...

The woman seemed to be making some pretty good points until she stopped with, “Ugh! Those people are just so stupid!!” She could have said Southerners, Northerners, Liberals, Conservatives, Chinese, or Americans. It doesn’t matter. She just proved that she wasn’t being smart. There are no smart people or stupid people, just people being smart or being stupid. Being smart means thinking things thro...

The only business I’ve ever done is the co-op / sharing model. It goes like this: You have something that people want. It might be something you own, something you’ve learned how to do, or access to resources, space, or people. Find a way to share it with everyone who needs it. Not necessarily for profit, but just because it’s what you’d do for friends, and it’s the right thing to do. If it takes...

When I was twenty-two, I lived alone on the Oregon coast for a year, just practicing , recording , dreaming , and going for long runs on the beach. I had been coming to this beach since I was a baby, and had spent hundreds of hours walking every bit of it. As a kid, the golden jackpot was to find an unbroken sand dollar shell. It had happened maybe five times in my life. But that year I lived ther...