Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur

by Derek Sivers

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.

When you’re onto something great, it won’t feel like revolution. It’ll feel like uncommon sense.

Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what’s not working.

For every event you get invited to, every request to start a new project, if you’re not saying, “Hell yeah!” about it, say no.

serial entrepreneur Steve Blank: “No business plan survives first contact with customers.”

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. If you’re ever unsure what to prioritize, just ask your customers the open-ended question, “How can I best help you now?” Then focus on satisfying those requests.

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

The less I own, the happier I am. The lack of stuff gives me the priceless freedom to live anywhere anytime.