Derek Sivers Quotes

Don’t try to change them ... unless they asked you to.

Here’s how to live: Master something.

Necessity is a great teacher.

You learn best from your mistakes.
This is true.
So you should deliberately make as many mistakes as possible.

If you find even the smallest way to make people smile, they’ll remember you more for that smile than for all your other fancy business-model stuff

Don’t hope.
Hope is wanting things to be different than they are.
Wanting to change yourself is self-loathing.

Don’t answer a hard question too quickly.
Don’t stop at the first answer.
In mystery stories, the first suspect is not the culprit.

People don’t fail by choosing the wrong path — they fail by not choosing.

Here’s how to live: Think super-long-term.

The less you do, the more you can see.
Observe and learn.
Watch the world.

To love something, first you have to connect with it.
Give it your full attention.
Deliberately appreciate it.
Try this with places, art, and sounds.
Try this with activities and ideas.
Try this with yourself.

No choice is inherently the best.
What makes something the best choice?
You.
You make it the best through your commitment to it.

Mistakes are the fountain of youth.
The old and successful get fragile.

People make bad decisions because they felt they had to decide.
It would have been wiser to do nothing.

People talk about pessimism and optimism by saying, “Glass half-empty or glass half-full?”
But a caveman would say, “Oh my god! A glass! What a great invention! I can see what I’m about to drink! This is amazing! A blanket! A chair! A bed! Food, ready and waiting? This is heaven!”
You don’t have to be a caveman to look around you and appreciate your comforts by imagining life without them.