Derek Sivers Quotes

Forget the view outside your window.
Focus on the view inside your head.
Instead of bringing the world in to your mind, bring your mind out to the world.

The first follower is actually an underestimated form of leadership in itself. … The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.

Just pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when you're being the real you and when you're trying to impress an invisible jury.

Here’s how to live: Chase the future.

Bad has more power.
Insults affect you more than compliments.
Injuries affect you more than back rubs.
Poison affects you more than medicine.
A great relationship or reputation built over years can be destroyed by one bad deed.
An otherwise perfect meal can be wrecked by one cockroach on the plate.

Don’t be on your deathbed someday, having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big dreams. You need to know your personal philosophy of what makes you happy and what’s worth doing.

A bad goal makes you say, “I want to do that some day.” A great goal makes you take action immediately.

Some say “blood is thicker than water,” as if only your immediate relatives have blood.
But everyone has blood, and you’re related to all of them.

Communicate knowledge to others to make sure you understand.
Don’t quote.
Put it in your own words without looking up or referencing what others said.
If you can’t explain it yourself, you don’t know it.

But revolution is a term that people use only when you’re successful. Before that, you’re just a quirky person who does things differently.

"Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Store to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hand saying, "Does it do [x]?", "Do you plan to add [y]?". Finally Jobs said, "Wait wait — put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don't want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.

Learning without doing is wasted. If I don’t use what I learn, then it was pointless! How horrible to waste those hundreds of hours I spent learning, and not turn it into action.

no matter what you tell the world or yourself your actions reveal your real values. your actions show you what you really want

Here’s how to live: Follow the great book.

But all progress comes from those who ignore the boundaries, break the rules, or make a whole new game.