Derek Sivers Quotes

Short-term thinking is the root of most of our problems, from pollution to debt, both personal and global.

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

You recently had a day, or even a month, that you can’t remember.
If I asked what you did then, you couldn’t say.
There was nothing unusual about it.

Think of the comic heroes, like Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Chan, Jim Carrey, Kung Fu Panda, or Roberto Benigni in “Life Is Beautiful”.
They win by being playful, creative, adaptive, irreverent, and unbound by norms.
Those who take life too seriously are the opposite, and at a disadvantage.

Doesn’t that feel more powerful? Try it. Maybe instead of “fault” you prefer the word “responsibility,” but the idea is the same. Think of every bad thing that happened to you, and imagine that you happened to it.

Reducing your expenses is so much easier than increasing your income.

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.

The pleasure of buying a new thing disappears in days, even hours.
So much misery comes from indulgences in current junk. So the way to live is to ignore everything new.
All of it.
Let the test of time filter everything.
Value only what has endured.

Four years before I started CD Baby, as I was recording my first album, I needed to borrow $20,000 to buy studio equipment. My dad said, “Instead of my lending you money, start a corporation. Then the family business can buy shares in your corporation.

The real point of doing anything is to be happy, so do only what makes you happy.

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

I hope you find these ideas useful for your own life or business. I also hope you disagree with some of them. Then I hope you e-mail me to tell me about your different point of view, because that’s my favorite part of all. (I’m a student, not a guru.)

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

You know what your great book is.
Whether the Bible, Tanakh, Upanishads, Quran, Think and Grow Rich, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, or another, follow it diligently.

Live in the world of tomorrow.
Surround yourself only with what’s brand new and upcoming.
That’s where life is made.
It’s the most optimistic environment, full of hope and promises.