Derek Sivers: Recent Episodes
Derek Sivers
Kids scream, “Monster in the hallway!”, and hide behind the couch. They stack up cushions for protection, and plan their defense. They know it’s not true — there’s not really a monster in the hallway — but it’s exciting to feel the adrenaline of panic, then make a shelter and feel safe.
In my previous post, “a daily run” — (please read it first) — running was a metaphor for whatever actions you take in your life. The story is about how we choose beliefs because they’re useful, not true. Beliefs make emotions. Emotions make actions.
I used to scoff at those people who had panic attacks. “The cake is late! Oh no! I’m freaking out! I can’t breathe!” Ridiculous. Hysterical. Over-reacting.
My advice to anyone who writes: Try writing one sentence per line. I’ve been doing it for twenty years, and it improved my writing more than anything else.
My Sivers ancestors came from Grantham, Lincolnshire, England on a boat to America in 1849. The boat crashed on rocks in the Irish sea, caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, got pushed off course repeatedly by storms, and finally landed in New Orleans after two months. New Orleans was overcome with cholera, so they hopped a steam boat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Cholera killed nine passengers and the pilot of the boat. Days after they arrived in St. Louis, the city caught fire so they escaped in a covered wagon to Glenwood Iowa, finally arriving after three more months. In 1890, one of their sons ventured to the wild west of Colorado to pursue an opportunity.
I was living on the beach in Santa Monica, California, and life was perfect. I was in paradise, and deeply happy.
Why I don’t like holidays, How to Live, how constraints give you more freedom
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Making a shift in your life, goals, a specific plan to only do what makes you happy, being rich
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Big fun questions. Five types of thinking and how to improve them, achieving success and motivation, deliberate daydreaming.
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A guided pause, living life as a series of grand experiments, asking yourself questions, possible futures, and the Muppets
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Success, radical honesty, doing the things that scare you, why I love changing my mind
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Why music can’t speak for itself, never underestimate the power of imitating a great song, why I love the underrated, behind the scenes heroes in music.
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Directives, 2¢, reading, mental models, Tony Robbins, living a meaningful life and the biggest mistake I ever made
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Local vs. global, why we travel, singing the counter melody, freedom, expired identities.
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Fun questions. Ideas versus execution, why business is about being generous, amplifying your niche, my one wish for everyone on the Internet.
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Being prepared for the worst, why I like email, writing, being succinct
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One of my favorite people. On friendship, writing, music, goals, and more. My last interview of the season.
Notes at notion.soor subscribe to Ali at YouTube.
Education and learning. Why being smart is a choice, the qualities of a great teacher, how I learn, focus, tech independence, my future projects.
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Women in tech, parenting + learning, procrastination, goals, and tech independence.
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Fun conversation. Reading, what makes a great book, the definition of a philosopher, how to get rich, being meta-considerate.
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How to be wealthy at $500/month, focus time vs making time, and what's enough.
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Wonderful conversation with lots of music references. Why your favorite things are magic spells, Hendrix is like Darwin, and you should remove the marketing from your website.
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On balance, viewpoints, play, formative times, screen time, focus, curiosity, self-expansion
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Dealing with criticism, how quantity leads to quality, separating decisions from the outcomes, why I don’t believe in failure.
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How to maintain flow and keep your momentum, How to Live, time and schedules
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Great interview with smart questions. How to make the difficult things fun, my thoughts on money, failure, finding your mission.
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Fitness, consumerism, creative travel, how to live, school, hot-and-cold, discipline, and the importance of nature.
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Centered around a topic I really care about: focus and distraction. Tips for eliminating distractions, monk mode, when playing hooky is a good thing, why we should commit to a problem but not the solution, building willpower and discipline, deliberate consumption
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The most I’ve ever talked about parenting. Fun conversation.
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A travel alternative, being creative, making money, serving others, finding the opposite point of view
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Caring about the things no one else cares about, solitude, why I enjoy changing my mind, knowing when to quit, why no one invites me to parties
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Timeless marketing strategies for artists: Launch before you’re ready, let people see you improve, keep in touch with hundreds of people, remember that marketing is the last extension of your art
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Why I respond to every email, ignoring the daily and looking at the big picture instead, why difficult times are great catalysts for personal reinvention.
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Smart conversation. Why minimalism is considerate, how to make your website future-proof, how to stop procrastinating, achieving excellence, why truth isn’t succinct, why I’m self-publishing
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Fun conversation about music. Creative ways to pursue your music career, developing an alter ego, mastering distraction, how the only wrong choice is to do nothing, faking it as an introvert, mentors.
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48 rapid-fire questions about dating, Singapore, value, and life
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The difference between what you want now and what you want most, letting go of goals, getting things done, why I’m never busy, when to focus and when to explore
Really fun conversation. Lots of topics I rarely talk about. Building your values, learning and growth, How to Live and my directives, leaving a legacy through what you create, being a life explorer, minimalism
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Private call to an association of professional speakers. Tips for giving a good talk, building an audience, keeping people surprised, being social as an introvert, sharing one idea at a time, how inspiration meets us halfway
Info at asiaspeakers.org
Introversion, world travel, writing, learning & creating as ultimate values, and a new definition of retirement
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Different approaches to curiosity, self-reliance, becoming a world citizen, seeing things from a different point of view
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Our competitive advantage over AI, minimalism, why you should think like a geologist with technology, and more
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Beliefs expire. Add value to others. Understand what works for you. You don’t need more. Operating at a different pace, and more. Fun talk.
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Making music and the creative process. Really fun conversation.
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Changing identities, tea, thinking through things slowly, why you shouldn’t be attached to plans
How goals shape our actions, accidental success, work as a public service, Sethlings, and listening to your audience.
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subtracting to add value, unlearning, play as work, shallow happy vs. deep happy, doing what you want most
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Living abroad, Stoicism, why you should write your own autobiography
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Great conversation on letting go of goals, developing laser focus for the most impact, finding a different angle on perseverance, questioning your own answers
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Music: creative process, motivation, originality, and smart career building.
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on slow thinking, how actions reveal your true values, goal-letting vs. goal-setting
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First interview in over three years. About being an introvert in the music industry, finding balance as a creative, the benefits of a stage name, and conferences.
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You would think this would be a basic life skill, but it seems almost nobody knows it, so please spread the word.
A musician had manufactured 10,000 copies of his CD in anticipation of 10,000 orders that were sure to come through that week.
In 1991 I was 22 years old, and had moved to New York City to be a professional musician.
In 1990, at the age of 20, I moved to New York City and got a job as the tape room guy for Warner/Chappell Music Publishing.
You know those people whose lives are transformed by meditation or yoga or something like that?
I don’t usually talk about money, but a friend asked me what it was like to get rich, and he wanted to know specifics, so I told him my story.
My “daily” blog was silent the last four days, because I took my kid on a spontaneous trip to another country.
You couldn’t just roll down the street leaving huge piles of garbage everywhere you go, making life slower for everyone as they climb over your mountains of junk, just to get on with their life.
This is my advice to anyone writing something for the public — especially a talk on stage.
Somewhere in our past, we were told it’s bad to daydream, because it meant doing nothing — staring out the window — instead of doing what we’re supposed to be doing.
The most relaxed feeling I know is after going back and forth between a super-hot pool and super cold pool.
What do you call it when you skip school or work for a day, to do whatever you want instead?
Since I’m living in Europe now, I thought it would be good to tour everywhere in Europe, and get to know it better.
When you experience someone else’s genius work, a little part of you feels, “That’s what I could have, would have, and should have done!”
People with many interests often ask my advice on which industry or career path they should follow.
I met a couple who were thinking of quitting their jobs and travelling the world for a year.