Top 15 Derek Sivers Quotes

"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.

Most people don't know why they're doing what they're doing. They imitate others, go with the flow, and follow paths without making their own.

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.

If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs.

Never forget why you’re really doing what you’re doing. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn’t that enough?

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

Whatever excites you, go do it. Whatever drains you, stop doing it.

In the end, it's about what you want to be, not what you want to have.

If you think your life's purpose needs to hit you like a lightning bolt, you'll overlook the little day-to-day things that fascinate you.

People often ask me what they can do to be moresuccessful. I say disconnect. Even if just for a few hours. Unplug. Turn off your phone and Wi-Fi. Focus. Write. Practice. Create. That’s what’s rare and valuable these
days.

You get no competitive edge from consuming the same stuff everyone else is consuming.

Never forget that absolutely everything you do is for your customers. Make every decision — even decisions about whether to expand the business, raise money, or promote someone — according to what's best for your customers.

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.

Trust, but verify. Remember it when delegating. You have to do both.

When you sign up to run a marathon, you don’t want a taxi to take you to the finish line.

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.