Author: Derek Sivers
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💡 The Book in 3 Sentences

  1. You could have anything in the world, but would that makes you the person who you wanted to be.
  2. You are doing what you are doing because the point of doing anything in the end is it makes you happy.
  3. It’s not about making money, or growing larger, or conquering the world, it’s simply about filling a need that makes you happy.

⭐️ Impression

This book is one of the most “real” book to me, as of right now(I am starting to get into non-fiction from now on). Sivers told his story in a way that is both entertaining and insightful. Lessons in the book derives from the core meaning of what it takes to be happy. Some of which he told in the book, are a little bit too luck-based and too specific of a situation. But, the way he tells the story and the lessons in it makes the reading worth it.

🔍 How I Discovered It

This book itself is some-what prominent since it first published back in 2011, and I happened to stumbled upon it when I was finding some non-fiction book to read, since I wanted to get into non-fiction. Also, the book is in “People’s Library to Success” and “Best books for beginning entrepreneurs” recommendation list at Goodreads. I picked it up blindly at first, knowing that the Author, Derek Sivers, appears in one of my english listening lesson, in a TED talk about how to start a movement.

  • A bit of a side note; Later, I found out that Derek Sivers has a website solely for book notes, so I went ahead and browse the web, and his notes are as engaging as his book. Someday, I would also going to make a book note website for myself.

👤 Who Should Read It

Although the subtitle of the book is “40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur”, I don’t think that it is “only” for entrepreneurs, the lessons in it is also worth for:

  • People who wanted try and look at the world from a different view.
  • People who wanted to start a business.
  • People who have endless needs and wanted to reflect on the need itself.

In the end, I think everyone will get at least something out of this book.

🌱 How the Book Changed Me

It changes how I reflect my opportunities and circumstances. I used to think that I need this or that to help me achieve being who I wanted to be, in the end I’m running in an endless loop of happiness and fulfillment chasing. A different perspective that Sivers introduced in the book pushes me to view my personal needs in a different way. “Do I really need a Mac to be a productive person, just because I watched several good reviews of it?” Is the question that I immediately ask myself after finished the book. The answer for me, is weighted heavily on the “maybe” side, now. As an opposition to the original “I absolutely have to buy a Mac to ‘speed-up my workflow’”. Which it tells me that, what I really want is not to be productive, but to make myself happy about myself for being productive.

✒️ My Top Three Quotes

  • But the whole point of doing anything is because it makes you happy! That’s it!… In the end, it’s about what you want to be, not what you want to have.
  • Never forget why you are doing what you are doing. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn’t that enough?
  • Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what’s not working.

📒 Summary + Notes

  • Don’t pursue little distractions instead of big dream.
    • Many people loves to distract ourselves from what really matters.
    • A long-term self-fullfillment is better than a short-term pleasure.
  • Say yes to opportunities
    • It’s either a “Hell yeah!” or a “No”.
    • Maximizing the opportunity means maximizing the chance of success.
  • The important of persistance.
    • Success comes from persistently improving and inventing. Not from persistently doing what’s not working.
    • The way we improve ourselves is by keep doing what beneficial to us, in a way that it keeps pushing us forward in the direction that we wanted, not keeping us at the same place, in our safe zone.
  • “Never forget why you are doing what you are doing. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn’t that enough?”
    • Never feel down about something out of you control, don’t feel sad when things are somewhat off your plan, the fact that you are here being who you want to be have already proves that you’ve done enough to be proud of yourself.
  • The whole point of doing anything is because it makes you happy! That’s it!
    • Why you wanted to do what you are doing in the first place. Was it for money? Was it for fame? Was it for the status? If so, would you be happy if in the end you know that you are able to achieve those desire? We are all products of our own desire, desire to be happy.
  • In the end, it’s about what you want to be, not what you want to have.
    • This one really resonates with me. The way I used to think about an aspect of our life is: Our possession is directly proportional to our contextual worth. After this section of the book, it kinds of changes my perception on it.
    • We can be who we wanted to be regardless of what we have in our toolbox.
  • Delegate but don’t abdicate.
    • Distribute your tasks not your role.
    • It is OK to assign a leader, but don’t resign your position.
  • Pay close attention to when you’re being the real you and when you’re trying to impress an invisible jury.
    • Don’t let other people brings you down by assign you their expectations of how they wanted you to be.
    • Show them who you are, who you wanted to be, not who is governed by the supposition of the others.
    • Be yourself, and you will know your worth.