Derek Sivers podcast

What next?

I have so much more to say on this subject, but this book is done now because I believe short books are useful. So the conversation continues on the website: sive.rs/u

Reframing death

For the last three years, my boy and I have had a pet mouse. We got her from a pet store, and he’s carried her in his hand through so many adventures in forests, beaches

You are what you pretend to be

Your outside doesn’t need to match your inside. You can feel terrified inside, but just pretend to be brave for one minute. By doing that, you were actually brave. Y

Keep tuning and adjusting

When I got my first guitar, the nice man at the shop put on new strings and tuned it. A week later, I brought it back to the shop because it sounded terrible. He told m

Take the first step immediately

I spent basically my whole life in America, and had no desire to travel or be anywhere else. But one day I was thinking about growing older, and how people get stuck in

Why your choice is wrong

No matter what choice you make, someone will tell you it’s wrong. It’s wrong because it’s not what they would have chosen. It’s not what they need. It’s not the cho

Talk with friends to solidify it

After you privately internalize a belief, talk about it with friends. Explaining it to different people helps you refine it. They might see an angle or consequence you

Private journal to internalize it

Once you find a viewpoint you want to adopt, a great tool to internalize it is a private journal. Whether you write, type, or just talk, the point is to fill your mind w

No new instructions for the computer

You load the program into the computer, and it begins its calculations. It’s computing. It’s working hard, and it’s going to take some time. If you interrupt it with

From explorer to self-leader

Picture the stereotype of an explorer, hundreds of years ago, on an expedition to uncharted lands. The explorer tries everything. Up that river. Down that valley. Int

How to decide and make the best choice

You can do anything. But you can’t do everything. You have to decide. If you don’t decide, you get nothing. You can think of a hundred paths to follow. But you can’

An awesome collection of great questions

This is where I would share powerful questions that you can answer for big insights and change. But here’s why I’m not: I’ve read books that have long lists of questio

Five tiny tales of reframing

On the Olympic podium stood the winners of the gold, silver, and bronze medal. The silver medalist was so angry at herself for not being just a little bit faster — just

Traits of useful perspectives

To list all the beliefs I’ve found useful would fill a whole book. (Actually, four books so far, since that’s what my previous books were about.) So instead, for your o

Expand your repertoire

To change, reach past what comes naturally. Avoid your defaults. Get guidance outside of yourself. Use a different tool. “Oblique Strategies” is the name of a deck

Diamond in the trash

When things aren’t going well, you’re in a bad state of mind. If you ask yourself a healthy question, like “What’s great about this?”, your answer will probably be “Noth

Answer great questions

Pick something that’s holding you back from what you want to do, be, or feel. It might feel like physical fact. “I’m too old.” “I can’t afford it.” Even if you are o

Who chooses your (next) thoughts?

You might say, “I can’t help the way I feel”, as if it’s completely out of your control — as if you have no choice and are unable to feel any other way. But you do have

The most useful part of this book

Imagine you’re reframing a painting. First, you remove the old frame. Then you try different frames. The first three parts of this book were helping you remove the ol

Philosophies are instruments

Los Angeles, 1952. Igor Stravinsky, the composer, was 70 years old, and rehearsing the orchestra. A young girl who lived next to the orchestra hall snuck in through th