Anything You Want

by Derek Sivers

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.

Any time you think you know what your new business will be doing, remember this quote from Steve Blank: No plan survives first contact with customers.

I'm so glad I didn't have investors. I didn't have to please anybody but my customers and myself. No effort spent on anything but my customers.

Starting small puts 100 percent of your energy on actually solving real problems for real people. It gives you a stronger foundation to grow from. It eliminates the friction of big infrastructure and gets right to the point. And it will let you change your plan in an instant, as you're working closely with those first customers telling you what they really need.

So please don't think you need a huge vision. Just stay focused on helping people today.

There's a big difference between being self-employed and being a business owner. Being self-employed feels like freedom until you realize that if you take time off, your business crumbles. To be a true business owner, make sure you could leave for a year, and when you came back, your business would be doing better than when you left.