Hell Yeah or No: what's worth doing

By Derek Sivers

Useful wisdom. Simple profound mental models to guide your decisions.

Overwhelmed? If you feel anything less than "hell yeah!" about something, say no. We say yes too often. By saying no to almost everything, you leave space and time in your life to throw yourself completely into the

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hit Media
• Release date: May 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781988575070

Derek Sivers

After making a living as a professional musician, Derek Sivers went looking for ways to sell his own CD online and ended up creating CD Baby, once the largest seller of independent music on the web with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients. Since 2008, Derek has traveled the world and stayed busy creating and nurturing creative endeavors, like Muckwork, his newest company where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their “uncreative dirty work.” Derek writes regularly on creativity, entrepreneurship, and music on his blog: http://sivers.org/.

Book preview

book cover

Hell Yeah or No

what’s worth doing

Derek Sivers

Copyright © 2020 by Sivers Inc

All rights reserved

Editor: Catherine Oliver

Producer: Saeah Lee Wood

Hell Yeah or No

Hit Media logo

Hit Media

OPENING

About this book

UPDATING IDENTITY

What if you didn’t need money or attention?

You don’t have to be local

Actions, not words, reveal our real values

Keep earning your title, or it expires

Why are you doing?

Some will always say you’re wrong

Imitate. We are imperfect mirrors.

Loving what I used to hate

The public you is not you

Character predicts your future

Fish don’t know they’re in water

Are you present-focused or future-focused?

Small actions change your self-identity

SAYING NO

If you’re not feeling hell yeah! then say no

Saying no to everything else

Art is useless, and so am I

I’m a very slow thinker

Tilting my mirror (motivation is delicate)

Quitting something you love

How will this game end?

Solitary socialite

Getting out of a bad state of mind

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN

There’s no speed limit

Relax for the same result

Disconnect

Unlikely places and untangled goals

When you’re extremely unmotivated

Think like a bronze medalist, not silver

Imagining lots of tedious steps? Or one fun step?

Procrastination hack: change and to or

There are always more than two options

Beware of advice

Switch strategies

Don’t be a donkey

CHANGING PERSPECTIVE

I assume I’m below average

Everything is my fault

I love being wrong

Singing the counter-melody

What are the odds of that?

two three four ONE, two three four ONE

232 sand dollars

My favorite fable

WHAT’S WORTH DOING?

Obvious to you. Amazing to others.

Happy, Smart, and Useful

How to do what you love and make good money

What do you hate not doing?

You don’t need confidence, just contribution.

Let pedestrians define the walkways

Don’t start a business until people are asking you to

Parenting : Who is it really for?

OK Milt, I’ll start writing again

FIXING FAULTY THINKING

Unlearning

Subtract

Smart people don’t think others are stupid

The mirror: It’s about you, not them.

Assume men and women are the same

Moving for good

Learning the lesson, not the example.

Overcompensate to compensate

Projecting meaning

SAYING YES

After fifteen years of practice

Goals shape the present, not the future.

Seeking inspiration?

Possible futures

If you think you haven’t found your passion…

Whatever scares you, go do it

OPENING

About this book

About this book

In my first book, Anything You Want, I told the story of how I started, grew, and sold my company.

As part of selling the company, I signed a non-compete agreement that said I couldn’t do the one thing I’d been doing since I was twenty-seven years old. So I had to make a real change in my life.

I thought a lot about what’s worth doing, fixing faulty thinking, and making things happen. For the next ten years, I wrote for hours a day in my private journal, asking myself questions and answering them. When these thoughts seemed useful to others, I’d turn them into articles, which are now the chapters of this book.

I write succinctly because I’m only introducing ideas. You can apply them to your life better than I can. But if you want to hear more thoughts or talk about them, go to the URL at the end of each chapter: (sivers.org/_____) There you’ll find many interesting comments about that idea, and you can post your own.

Or just say hello at sive.rs/contact I love hearing from people who have found my work. I reply to every email.

— Derek Sivers, Oxford, England, 2019

UPDATING IDENTITY

What if you didn’t need money or attention?

You don’t have to be local

Actions, not words, reveal our real values

Keep earning your title, or it expires

Why are you doing?

Some will always say you’re wrong

Imitate. We are imperfect mirrors.

Loving what I used to hate

The public you is not you

Character predicts your future

Fish don’t know they’re in water

Are you present-focused or future-focused?

Small actions change your self-identity

What if you didn’t need money or attention?

You know that feeling you have after a big meal? When you’re so full that you don’t want anything more?

Ever wonder what that would feel like in other parts of your life?

We do so many things for the attention, to feel important or praised. But what if you had so much attention and so much praise that you couldn’t possibly want any more? What would you do then? What would you stop doing?

We do so many things for the money, whether we need it or not. But what if you had so much money that you couldn’t possibly want any more? What would you do then? What would you stop doing?

And then if you stopped doing all these things you’re doing just for the money or the attention, what would be left? Who would you be if you didn’t do these things? If you were completely satiated, then what? After an understandable period of relaxing, what would you pursue?

Don’t say sit around and do nothing, because that’s still just relaxing. I mean after that, when you’re ready to be useful to others again.

What would you do then, if you didn’t need the money and didn’t need the attention?

You don’t have to be local

You can focus your time locally or globally.

If you’re local, you focus on your community, doing things in-person. But this means you have less time to focus on the rest of the world.

If you’re global, you make things for the whole world. But this means you have less time to be part of your local community.

Neither approach is right or wrong, but you need to be aware of the trade-off.

I lived in Woodstock, New York for three years. There I started my company, entirely online. I never met anyone in Woodstock. I just lived there, but didn’t socialize there. My attention was focused globally, which helped my business grow quickly.

Then I lived in Portland, Oregon for three years. I worked every waking hour — super productive. I made great friends worldwide, but I never hung out in Portland. It was just my place to work and sleep. My attention was still focused globally.

Then I lived

Reviews for Hell Yeah or No

[Marj Rodriguez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Short, sweet, and also familiar. Derek has the ability of pointing out nuggets of wisdom that go unnoticed by us busy, inexperienced folk. I will definitely re-read the highlights and bookmarks I made from this book. Perfect for those starting out, confused in making a major life decision, and creatives.