Derek Sivers

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Travel for self discovery

  “I want to learn about the world, so I keep travelling. About the world, I learn a bit. About myself, I learn a lot.”

  Our noteDerek summarizes the ultimate benefit of experiencing different cultures.

• Deliberate self expansion

  “Instead of letting it happen accidently or randomly, why not be deliberate about it?”

  Our noteEncouraging a proactive approach to personal growth and learning.

• Considerate distribution

  “If you have something worth spreading, it's considerate to spread it widely, to reach people through their favorite medium.”

  Our noteDerek explains why he decided to stop forcing people to visit only his website.

• Diverse media consumption

  “Some people only listen to audio. Some people only watch video. Some people only read paper books. Some people only swipe feeds on their phone.”

  Our noteDerek lists the different ways people prefer to consume information.

• Protecting creative focus

  “perhaps I will continue my retreat as a more hard-line means of cutting myself off from those platform-inspired anxieties so I can just get back to thinking and writing.”

  Our noteHe considers retreating from social media to prioritize deep thinking and writing over platform engagement.

• Content length preference

  “My blog essays of 700 or 900 words are what I write to my hearts content. I don't want to publish shorter or more often.”

  Our noteDerek explains why he prefers writing longer essays over short, frequent updates.

• Be an opportunist

  “Be an absolute opportunist , doing whatever is best for the future in the current situation, unbound by the past.”

  Our noteDerek encourages founders to prioritize current opportunities over past commitments or public statements.

• Hobby versus business

  “If only I care, well, then it's a hobby for myself, not a business.”

  Our noteDerek Sivers shares a reader's reflection on how external demand defines a business.

• Sharing examples

  “I almost linked directly to that video. Glad you found it. Great example.”

  Our noteDerek responds to a reader who found a video illustrating the concept of counter-melodies.

• Move to big cities

  “One of the best things you can do for your career is to move to a big city - one of the major media centers - the places that broadcast to the entire world.”

  Our noteDerek explains why physical location still matters for career breakthroughs despite the internet.

• Non-profit business structure

  “My business is set up so that not a single dollar ever comes to me . (It's a C-corp owned by a foundation, and I take no salary.)”

  Our noteDerek describes the legal and financial structure of his book publishing business.

• Focus breeds success

  “Anything that inspires focus is a good thing, for focus breeds success.”

  Our noteDerek Sivers's readers discuss how focusing on current actions rather than past titles leads to better results.

• Book evolution

  “It became my book How to Live !”

  Our noteDerek explains that the principles discussed in the essay were eventually expanded into his book.

• Accepting deliberate pace

  “When you're less impulsive and more deliberate like this, it can be a little inconvenient for other people, but that's OK.”

  Our noteDerek encourages founders to prioritize quality of thought over the convenience of others.

• Selecting interview guests

  “First he finds brilliant accomplished people that he wants to learn from - people that are not too famous so they are not too polished in their answers.”

  Our noteDerek explains how Tyler Cowen selects guests to ensure authentic and unpolished insights.

• Writing for impact

  “A good article should be thought provoking, not trying to be right for everyone.”

  Our noteA reader discusses the purpose of Derek's writing and its subjective value.

• Intrinsic vs extrinsic

  “Do we really want to do this thing, for its own sake? Or do we just want the praise?”

  Our noteDerek questions the true motivation behind big life decisions like world travel.

• Digital platform risk

  “Businesses shut down, and delete their archives. In 1999. mp3.com was the place everyone put all their music and totally depended on it. A few years later it shut down, all music destroyed.”

  Our noteDerek explains why relying on third-party social media platforms for personal archives is dangerous.

• Internal motivation

  “I thought that sharing it would take the focus off of my true motivation and dilute the impact of my experience.”

  Our noteDerek highlights a reader's comment about running a marathon without telling anyone to preserve the personal impact.

• Decision making framework

  “When making a decision, ask yourself how you'll feel about it when you're old. What would your future self and family thank you for?”

  Our noteDerek proposes using your future self's perspective as a guide for current choices.

• Research for action

  “You can't act on a vague desire. But with an hour of research you could find the names of ten booking agents that work with ten artists you admire.”

  Our noteDerek shows how research transforms a vague wish into a concrete contact list.

• News versus Now

  “The difference is that /news is for happenings and updates ("What's new?"), but /now is meant to be a summary of the whole. ("Where are you at in this stage of your life? What are you focused on?")”

  Our noteDerek explains the conceptual difference between a news feed and a personal now page.

• Updating content

  “I just erase and replace the old with the current. No need for timelines and history.”

  Our noteDerek explains how he maintains his /now page without keeping old logs.

• Humanizing websites

  “This can make so many websites more human and more personal. Thank you.”

  Our noteJanis explains how a /now page changes the feel of a website.

• Identifying problem ownership

  “To know whose problem it is, think who benefits most from solving it.”

  Our noteA simple heuristic to determine if a request is truly your responsibility or someone else's problem.

• Considering other possibilities

  “When they realize their confidence is less than 100%, they can consider other possibilities.”

  Our noteHe explains the benefit of quantifying confidence to avoid binary thinking.

• Competitive advantage of nature

  “Maybe even a competitive advantage in a world where everyone else is dependent on devices.”

  Our noteDerek discusses the benefits of raising his son in nature without screens.

• Focus without distraction

  “I wanted to give my boy my full attention without distraction - to live where I didn't know anyone.”

  Our noteDerek explains why he left his busy social life in Singapore for New Zealand.

• Creation versus consumption

  “the process of creating can be an art that is very different from consuming that thing - so giving vs. receiving are different experiences; meet different needs.”

  Our noteDerek explains why creators don't always need to be consumers of their own craft.

• Creation versus consumption

  “I'm much more enjoy making a radio show than I do listening.”

  Our noteA contributor discusses the difference between enjoying the process of making something and consuming it.