Hell Yeah or No
Derek Sivers
Summary
Another great book from Derek. Short, easy to read and a lot of timeless lessons.
Rating: 5/5
Notes
You can focus your time locally or globally but there’s a trade off
Actions always reveal someone’s real values
Success comes from doing, not declaring
Know why you’re doing what you’re doing because other people are always going to tell you you’re wrong
Some will always say you’re wrong. Take pride in your usual stance and smile at the them because you must be doing something right
Imitate because your imitation will turn out much different than the original
Experience erases prejudice
Old opinions shouldn’t define who you are in the future
Public comments are just feedback for something you made. Public you is not you
Character predicts your future, how you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters
Your actions show the world who you are
Say no to almost everything because it makes your yes more powerful
If something is killing your motivation, adjust your environment even if it’s inconvenient for others
Before you start something, think of the ways it could end
If you’re more driven than most people, you can do way more than anyone expects
Disconnect from your phone, TV, wifi. Focus, write, create.
When you’re feeling unmotivated, do things you don’t want to normally do
Your happiness depends on where you’re focusing
Great insight comes from opening your mind to many options
To assume you’re below anyone is to admit you’re still learning
Assume everything is your fault
Everyone’s ideas seem obvious to them
When making major decisions, think does it make me happy, is it smart and is it useful to others
Get a well paying job and pursue your art for love, not money
Learning without doing is wasted
Make decisions as late as possible once you have more info
‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.’ - Alain Toffler
What matters is what you get out of someone’s work, not the person who made it
To get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways and deeply understand different perspectives
Judge a goal by how well it changes your actions in the present moment
Whatever scares you, go do it
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Make Something Wonderful
Steve Jobs
Summary
The life of Steve Jobs in his own words
Rating: 5/5
Notes
Make something wonderful and put it out there
‘You appear, have a chance to blaze in the sky, then you disappear’
When you’re a stranger in a place, you notice thing you don’t otherwise (Jobs after India trip)
Whenever you start with nothing, always shoot for the moon. You have nothing to lose.
You never achieve what you want without falling on your face a few times
Never be afraid to fail. You never achieve what you want without falling flat on your face a few times
We are never taught to listen to our intuitions, to develop and nurture them. But if you do pay attention to these subtle insights, you can make them come true
Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights others don’t see
Believe that some of what you follow with your heart will come back and make your life richer. And it will. And you will gain even firmer trust on your instincts and intuitions
Make your avocation your vocation. Make what you love your work.
The journey is the reward. The reward isn’t in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s in crossing the rainbow
To find A+ talent, if experienced, look at their track record and results
The world we know is a human creation and we can push it forward
The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (read whole ad ‘here’s to the crazy ones)
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit - Aristotle
Hire people better than you are
You can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life
It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but they make sense looking backwards so you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you
***
Buy the book here
Free E-book download here
