Derek Sivers Series

The Inspiration

Although the general idea to create series of posts around a centralized topic or theme came from Tentblogger, Derek Sivers is the individual that inspired me to create series around certain people and how they affect the way I think.

It started the last week of 2012 when a friend of mine, Tasra Mar from TasraMar.com, put up this article on her site: 5 Reasons You Must Pursue Whatever Scares You. The inspiration for this article came from a quote from Derek Sivers around the same topic.

After reading everything Tasra had to share on the topic and being very inspired myself, I followed her links through to Derek’s site and snooped around. I ultimately spent around 2 hours watching videos he’s created. From these videos I wrote down three pages (!) of topics I wanted to blog about.

After I created my list however, I didn’t just want to start blogging on each topic as if I created it wholly my own, I wanted to give credit where credit is due. I wanted to open other people’s eyes to Derek and his work so they can be inspired and moved, because I firmly believe that two people hearing the exact same thing can have two very different, very significant responses. So by all means, follow the links and spend time on Derek’s site getting to know him, hearing what he has to say or reading what he’s written, and hopefully changing you for the better.

Who is Derek Sivers?

Derek’s rise to fame began as a musician and professional circus clown. In 1998 he then went on to start the company CD Baby, which became the largest seller of independent music online, with sales of $100 million and more than 150,000 artists. He went on to sell CD Baby for 22 million in cash, which he turned around and gave the funds to a charitable trust to fund music education with. Derek went on to write a book, Anything You Want, which hit No. 1 in all of its Amazon categories. (Side note, my good friend Joshua Gordon, from thenonconformistfamily.com, gave me a copy of the book a few months ago for being awesome (his words, not mine) and helping him out with a project. Thanks, Josh!) Derek now lives in Singapore with wife and cat.

Posts Inspired by Derek

Here is a list of topics I’ll be covering over some amount of time in the future (not sure how long it will take, because as I mentioned yesterday, I’m going to take this same approach with at least four other people, and I’m going to intermix the timing of the series to keep things interesting):

• Your obvious idea is amazing to others.
• What would you do if you knew you were going to die in 6 months?
• Do what excites and or scares you.
• Do you learn from your failures? Mistakes teach better than successes.
• If you’re not saying “Hell yeah!” about something, say “No!” to it.
• You don’t need funding, just start!
• Fixed mindset versus growth mindset (I presently have a fixed mindset).
• It’s an Experiment.
• Why are you doing what you’re doing? Money, prestige, fame, leave a legacy, freedom. Know, focus, and don’t diffuse.
• I’m so worried about what others think I allow it to have a significant impact on my decisions.
• If you keep going down the path you’re going, will you have deathbed regrets?
• No business plan survives first contact with the first customer.
• Nobody knows the future. Plan accordingly.
• Learn to ask “Why?”
• Simple is better. Your “One Thing”. What can you be a hedgehog over? Focus on it!
• Revolution is usually a term applied in hindsight. When you’re doing it you’re just weird or different.
• If people aren’t into what you’re doing, stop and do something else. It could be a timing issue. It could be people don’t understand. Let it go and try something else.
• Start small, then go big. Version 0.1 not version infinity.
• Ideas on their own are not that valuable. It’s the execution that makes an idea valuable.
• Treat your customers how you treat your friends.
• It’s the small things you do that can make a big difference.

Please note that I will update this list to reflect the exact title of the posts it inspires and the appropriate links. Also, I retain the freedom to add to or delete topics from this list.

Please be aware that while the posts referenced above are inspired by Derek Sivers, the thoughts and opinions expressed there in will be mine and mine alone. IB