My life was changed by four sentences in four books

It was your book "Hell Yeah or No" that made me quit my first job which was scary at that time.
☺!! — Derek

Thanks for sharing! For me, it was books, movies, music and people. „Die Grundformen der Angst“ („the basic forms of fear“, Fritz Riemann) made me question my own presumed altruistic motives. The movie Magnolia made me think deeply about forgiveness. My ethics teacher at school had the biggest impact on my interest on psychology and philosophy and sticking to ideals.

Often it was the first („Mrs Dalloway decided to bake herself“ (paraphrasing)) or the last („Maybe the magic would last. Maybe it wouldn’t. But then, what does?“ (Terry Pratchett)) that made an impact.

Music, so much really („Sunscreen song“, Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, etc)

Also, all of your books, of course :)

But following paths that I haven’t gone before is certainly one of the best advices for a fulfilled life.

PS: In fact, without Magnolia, I wouldn’t have bought Jon Brion‘s Score, wouldn’t then gone down this rabbit hole and bought his album Meaningless via CDBaby, and probably would not ever got to know you and your life.

That would have been sad.
☺ — Derek

Hi Derek,

Even books have a fourth dimension.

Best, Heinrich

Impressive how you were able to turn an inspiring sentence into action - BIG action. Not once, but repeatedly.

Bravery and faith demonstrated.

Building on that, I like books because I can pull one off the shelf in the middle of a conversation to flip directly to a little red dots I've put alongside the chapters and lines that have moved me — such as how today I literally (yes, literally) pulled my little orange hardcover and signed copy of USEFUL NOT TRUE out to read "Obligations are not true" to my 18yo niece to help articulate the differences between what the family might expect and what she is free to choose for herself. So, thanks for writing and publishing that ;)

More examples please! 😃🤩

I love this examples of how books changed your life. I stopped reading non-fiction books for a while. Now I understand that when you read them you can have incredible insights without having to look very hard to improve your life. I mean I will read them again because I love it, not because I have the feeling I should fix something. Thanks for this post

How do you know which book to read depending on the stage of your life/or experiences you are having?
I never know. I have 500+ books queued up to read. When I finish one, I skim the list of unread books, and pick the one that appeals the most in that moment. — Derek

Great advices Derek.

Almost every time in every life situation when you need to make a choice the hardest way is the easiest way.

I'm a reader, thinker and idealist, yet I can't recall any discrete change and quick turn.

For me, I might read several good chunks within a book, and let the ideas simmer and re-arrange inside me. Then later, looking back, I can appreciate how, in terms of actions I could see with a camera, and not solely regarding my beliefs, my actions and life has changed.

These sentences I would not say (or write) in a sound bite, but rather would enjoy explaining/exploring if we had time in the context of an open ended conversation over beverages. Not just one cup, and certainly not during just one cigarette.

On a related topic, I once put quotes from fiction that have moved me onto my essay blog, but I can't say the quotes meant turning points in my life.

Other thoughts:
Regarding Pavlina, I have his blog bookmarked on my desktop. Regarding the millionaire, my government posts a chart saying how my pension would be bigger per month the longer I waited to retire. But since my main priority is free time, I retired at a reasonable age instead of waiting.

... and as for 500+ "to be read", clearing that is the life goal, such that if you don't write another book it means I need to live only to 160-ish... so please, please, where is your next book? [Same request to KSR too.]

And Felix, a well know pain in the arse to several friends... planted trees well enough and before he died, it became a wood and then a forest and is now a forest management and planting charity "Heart of England Forest" Dennis saw the planting of the millionth tree... and the initial house and garden had huge numbers of different Buddleja davidii and its varieties (The Butterfly Bush)... not a bad way to use up some millions...

The book "Lying" by Sam Harris, after reading it I decided never to lie again. I haven't been able to actually never lie, but the decision made it so that no lie I tell or feel the urge to tell ever flies under my radar anymore, and I can say that I almost always never lie. And in a few cases I did I went back a few moments later and told the truth.

Another was the book "Our Home" from Chico Xavier. It is a book telling what happens after death, by a Brazilian spiritist, and it changed my life big time. I decided to start doing volunteer works, to donate every month a % of my income and to be more compassionate overall.

At number 13, Filipe says a book by Sam Harris taught not-lying.

Some long ago forgotten Bertrand Russell book got me into not lying. About that time I told my bus driver about Woody Allen's movie "Interiors" where people hold back their truth for too long, instead of getting it out there quickly.

Not lying means people wait to hear my report of a controversial gathering because "you are even handed." Like Russell would be.

From the reviews for the Harris book I get the impression that lots of people don't make an effort to not lie. I wish I knew more about widespread lying is. I first learned people are like that when everyone on the porch at church burst out laughing when I answered an honest "no" to "have you been reading your Bible?" A friend told them I am "without guile" which clued me in.

Thinking of the Harris reviews, of course I can be both truthful and gentle, I see no contradiction there.

Wonderful Derek,
You are living and the majority (including me) are just existing in this world...

Beautiful! I'll echo another comment to add that your writing helped me take the leap from work where I felt stagnant and into a fulfilling career in software.

Hiya Derek
LOve your insights brother.

Russ the Kiwi/Fijian

Hey!

I love that you have been impacted by sentences in books. I feel that reading a book is like having a conversation with three people, me, the author, and my thoughts. I’m a naturally reflective person and listening to teachings doesn’t give me time to think. But reading is solitude and empathy and reflection and inspiration all at once.

It’s amazing how thoughts are infectious. Like how you wanting to move somewhere different or when you quit your job. Once you have the idea, you can’t get it out of your head. I love those moments.

Estoy muy interesado pero necesitaria me orienten en crearla

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on chasing feelings throughout one’s life, and hopefully chasing those feelings will provide financial freedom perhaps but not necessarily.
I just listened to your podcast with Mark Manson and enjoyed it very much.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you

This is immensely inspiring.
May i inquire about more life changing lines from books?
Would be cool if now-now pages had a section for this.

Really appreciated all four of these. I think the last one, How to get Rich, is the most powerful for me.

Book 1 just made me feel so seen because if you were to look at my resume, I really have worked across different industries and yes, keeping the 2 year or less mark. I wasn't doing consciously, but, yeah. I mean, I even learned how shipping steel works. So...

Hey Derek- It's remarkable that in an age of fractured attention, you commit so fully to a book and its ideas. I love it. And it's even more remarkable that a single line, encountered at exactly the right moment, can have such a monumental and profound impact on the course of a life. You're blessed :)

I can relate to this. When I was 16 (now 51), I picked up my first self-help book, one that a friend was reading: The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck. I was hooked at the first sentence and read it cover to cover in a weekend. I was so inspired, so uplifted, and so full of love for the first time. I wrote to the author just to thank him, and all through life I recall that love is a verb, not a noun. That book pulled me out of a rough period and changed my entire outlook as I entered college life. It was also the start of a life long love for books - since that one I've never been without a stack on my bedside - mostly philosophy, spirituality and psychology. Books have shaped me more than anything else. Thanks for sharing. Love and blessings.

You're amazing 👏

Love you, Derek!

Wow! Poignant!!! Utterly pivotal life choices inspired by others who went to the trouble to write their books.
I appreciate you!!!

I think NACA has changed a bit over the years, but it sure was a great thing in the 90's! My band (Life In General) got to travel the country, play loads of gigs, AND we got to hang out with you.
Jerry!! Great to hear from you. I remember Life In General well. And yeah I wonder what NACA is like these days. We had to mail CDs, VHS videos, and DVDs to the colleges back then, to get gigs. — Derek

Your ideas have inspired me to write about mine: www.Larrysbigideas.com happy to send you a copy! (Print, ebook, PDF, Audible, MP3) happy to share at no cost.
Cheers and thanks from a fan!
Larry

"On Bullshit" (an essay in book form):

"It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he is to that extent respectful of it."

I always summarized as one line: "A lie is more respectful of the truth than bullshit because the liar is aware of what the truth is and the bullshitter doesn't care."

I used this extensively in business to determine if someone was lying or bullshitting but just asking some questions of the truth. If they show awareness, they were lying to me. If they ignored it completely, it was simply bullshit.

Wow! Nice one! — Derek

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”

Man's Search for Meaning by the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.

Anyone who hasn't read, must read it. The depth of this sentence becomes profound having done so.

That's crazy. I thought I was the only one who went to that class in NYC with Peter Knickles. I bought the audio cassettes, the binders and worked my plan. Not a year later (end of 1994), I moved to Nashville with a plan to pursue music and specific goals. I accomplished all of my goals, met my wife, and it changed my life forever too. I wonder if we were in the same class!!! It was 1993 or 1994, I believe.
Wow! Yeah! Probably were. How cool. ☺ — Derek

Thanks! I need to read "Island" because when I was a Caltech undergrad my rock climbing instructors were an economist (Kim Border) and an electrical engineer (Chuck Wilts)!

Derek -

This was a great post! Thanks for sharing. Long time fan of yours and reader of all your books. Thanks for continuing to share such great content.

This post really got me thinking. Look for the big idea. That big sentence. This will change the way I read and listen to books. I do hear or read them, but can be better at capturing those thoughts and meditating on them, and revisiting them. Internalizing them.

Cheers to you!

Bobby

PS. One sentence caught me last night in Erwin McManus' excellent book Mindshift..and it was this one:

“ If the hardest seasons of my life have taught me one thing about the complex reality of relationships, it is this. You can’t take everyone with you. Choose people who choose the future. Choose friends who are committed to living at the highest level. And who will challenge you to do the same.” - Erwin McManus

Inspiring, Derek - just like I remembered!

I recently left 4 of your books at an exchange-a-book bookshelf in a department store in Bendigo. "Hell Yeah" was one of them. That concept helped me choose menu items when I ran restaurants as well as leave the job when the opportunity presented itself. My hope was that those books went to someone who would profit from their wisdom. I am currently reading Techno Feudalism and have watched too many Yuval Harari interviews. But I try to balance my intake so as not to diminish my output. Paralysis by analysis is real...lol
☺ Thank you. — Derek

Good stuff!

Read this when you originally posted it and liked it then; it's as hard-hitting reading it again today as it was then. Wish I'd read it 40 years ago :)

Love the ability to boil down something into a north star to follow. Constantly looking for new north stars to slightly adjust course as I go.

Great insight! Thanks for sharing!

#1 was the last time a job had you.

#2 You manifested your own circumstances / outcome

#3 You chose growth over stagnation / complacency / accepting the unacceptable.

#4 You realised what enough was and exceeded your material wants. Because of having a very real and healthy perspective.

HA; I read a book by Derek Sivers. I forget the name... I don't agree it was the best book ever written but Duck AND Rabbit changed MY life. I use it all the time.....
: - )

Not specific single sentences, but "hell yeah" :) - books have transformed how I think about many things, not least YOUR books, Derek.

My 'to read' list also numbers around 500+ across genres. Even though I try to systematically prioritize which ones to read next, I often end up picking one on a moment's whim and how I feel at the moment! Works nicely.

I'm currently reading a lovely book called 'A Brief History of the World - In 47 Borders' by John Elledge. (You might enjoy it, I think!)

Now as a retired 82 yr old I am reading lots and loving the lack of advert. I use good reads to track what I have read and am over 100/year for the last 3.

Derek,
Welcome back, always good to hear from you and some of your amazing ideas,
keep it coming.

i’m sorry, but how?

how did you stay…humble(?) enough to put the perspective of a book above your ego?

how is it that you, having done all you had done up to the point of some of these books, tell yourself that this advice really did apply to you?

how is it that you followed these particular pieces of advice when advice is everywhere and contradictory (which, i suppose, led, in part, to your book, How To Live).

and lastly, after making these life-changing decisions…how often did you think you’d made a terrible mistake?

i love all of this, thank you.
Fun questions. Thanks. If I wasn’t open to change then I wouldn’t read the book. The reason I read a book is in hopes it will change me. I read an idea and run it through my head (and often save it in my notes to think about later), and decide if this is something I want to apply to my life. That’s all. And yes I’ve made many terrible mistakes, but that’s OK. — Derek

#3 hit me hardest. The idea of moving away so that I would be surprised every day. That is a truth I had never thought of.

One of my biggest life-changing moments came about because I MIS-READ something. I didn't even realize the mistake until my then boyfriend Bob had moved in with me; fully in love and wanting to get married. One night he said 'You didn't read my 1st online letter to you very carefully, did you?' Turns out in that intro note he had written "If you have a cat living in your house, don't even reply to my posting because I am completely allergic to cats."
Yup, you guessed it. Love conquered the allergies and we are still happy 22 years later. Mee-ow.
Barb

Great stuff! Living the antithesis of real consequences of decades in chronic stress fight mode. Managed to be an in demand specialist to Film/TV who confuse craft with click and ship and bewildered people who equate failure to scale as personal failure. At 60 wondering how I pulled any of it off and still at it. The last 10 years my attempt at factory met headwinds and torpedoes of the times.


Your books and CD Baby inspired me over the last quarter century
- stay inspired

Wow, love this article. It surely motivates me to read books again.
I would fit right in on that island, I never had a job for more than 10 months. Had 100s of jobs in 13 countries. I can only do employment as a form of learning adventure. The possibility of changing jobs is one big difference between wage slavery where the coercion is economic and chattel slavery where it was physical.

Love this! Timely advice for me.

It's hard to think about all the one-liners in books that have pushed me in a different direction at the right time and place, but I will say that your Ted Talk/youtube about a guy dancing in the park and the second follower being the catalyst to a movement going viral made me aware of you. That video led me to dive into your books and eventually email you. In your boosk, I read more one-liners (and longer paragraphs) that have certainly helped my life and perspectives.

A line isn't sticking to me right now, I will remember the gist of this post and apply it in different ways for me and pay it forward. Otherwise, I would not have taken the time to comment!

Cheers, Derek! Thanks (again) for your thoughtful insights and inspiration.
☺ — Derek

Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing, Derek!

Agree. Great article. Very helpful and inspirational. Thanks, Derek.

Wow! I just recorded a podcast (in Chinese) feature the Island by Aldous Huxley! podcasts.apple.com/cn/podcast/%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E5%B1%AF/id1645037937?l=en-GB&i=1000783650917
Love this article. May I translate it into Chinese and share on social? Thanks ☺️
Yep! Anything I post on my site is always free for copying, adapting, sharing, translating, or whatever. — Derek

You're very keen and proactive!

The same line from Felix Dennis’ book had a similar impact on me along with a song lyric from ‘Hell of a view by Eric Church.

‘I’m good at rolling dice, no good at standing still, you liked the thought of chasing life in stead of dollar bills’

So it was early retirement on a small income and a few years of sailing a yacht.

Books are the single best investment you can make ( particularly biographies). Al life time of knowledge for he price of a fast food meal!

Thank you for your insights Derek.

It's interesting a few people I follow and look upto have recommended how to get rich by Felix Dennis. Knowing when to stop is as important as knowing how to start

My life has been changed by acquiring a code of ethical behaviour from the heroes and mentors in the young adult science fiction books of Robert Heinlein. About ten or eleven such books, published yearly from 1947 for the Christmas market.

As well, I was changed by a 1940's text "Dynamics of Groups At Work" by Herbert Thelen, University of Chicago, which led to me, in my later years, to being a surprisingly (to others) effective chairman of a board of directors of a for-profit company.

Before reading, I had worked around rough outdoor soldiers who deny their feelings, so I did too. After reading, I realized how a group has emotions like a person does, and how as a group chairman I had to balance for the group, like surfing, the opposing forces of fear and desire to advance.

When I am not the leader, my "group dynamic" role is "group central comedian," to help us nobly relax and face things. (Not like a "clown" who basely helps the group run away —peers can sense the difference) When someone privately asked me if I was causing laughter on purpose, I said "Yes, you are right, just notice what was being said before I spoke."

As board chair I would let excited people discharge their creative ideas, without letting us get bogged down in detailed premature planning for those ideas. They trusted me to keep us moving along for practical results. The company is still in business.

I relish being a chair in various situations because then I feel clarity like a sports referee.

Also I read about how a group can have "denial," like an individual does. I applied this when a person died in front of us at a weekly evening Toastmasters meeting. Our group was not handling it well, so I became "chairman" for a methodical group discussion, with a flip chart agenda, where I gently led us through facing reality, exposing rumours.

I kept my mouth shut, as I could tell my peers were in denial, until someone else in the group voiced an insight that I had already figured out, and then instantly the whole group could see: we had to "get back on the horse" by dealing with our feelings at our usual place and time, rather than hold a special funeral meeting somewhere else.

I love this - I read the midnight library and that made me want to have different versions of my life and be happy with it. Changing is what keeps me going! So inspired by your work.

Sounds like the happiest are keeping life simple, doing the very thing that is in their heart and soul calling them. They spend little and nothing owns them and they nothing to no one.....

Diana Herself by Martha Beck, an allegory. I first read this book when I was knee deep in parenting teenagers, had a successful career and from the outside, wearing lots of badges of success. I liked it, thought it was kinda cool but didn’t really understand it. But now that I’m 55, trying to survive perimenopause, (and I use the word ‘surviving’ purposefully here) empty nesting and redefining who I am, reading this book again hits differently. This is the line that is changing my perspective on life: “This is often how destiny finds us: as a storm of desolation leading to a bright discovery." I’m clinging to this excerpt like a liferaft.

"to keep learning, we need to be surprised"
- love this. It's a nice companion to

"Growth and comfort do not coexist" -- Ginni Rometty (Ex IBM CEO)

So we have surprise and we have discomfort (or even pain).

I think surprise can be inspiration; to KEEP learning I've often found the obstacle to draw from the second quote more.

I reflect on my most successful creative outcomes (presentations, workshops, essays) and I've long come to appreciate that there seems to be this process of pain, of giving birth to new ideas, that is almost traumatic at times, but seems to be essential.

Can you share the sentences?

Inspirational...find your purpose live outside your comfort zone!!!

Lex Luthor, in the movie Superman: "Some people can read War&Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=okEnzrxrcv8

I also quit my job. For now, I have no money, but I’m happier. :)
I also tried some new activities, but none of them made me rich.
I hope to reach $27M one day, and by then, money surely won’t be a problem anymore. :)

I'm looking for flow in my life more than achievement. My current theory of what that happened is because of the place it lets me inhabit where I have more autonomy and I have a deep distrust for the motives and efforts of the power that achievement confers upon the successful

I'm always impressed with how other people talk about the journeys and really like all the introspection evident in this post.

Thank you!
--Robert Sterbal

📞 Phone: 412-977-3526 (call/text)
✉ Email: robert@sterbal.com
Mosaics: mosaics.sterbal.com

Stopping at $30m is deep, dark humour.
I found two of my life/career heuristics from books.

(1) be famous for something (I think from a Jo Owen leadership book), and;
(2) you can achieve anything in life as long as you don't mind who gets the credit (I think it was Truman's attribute I read)

As for stopping, doing it way before your markers - life's too short to chase money.

Loved this Derek - especially 4 and asking yourself when is enough, whats more important and being able to actually stop and pivot.

Such a great start to a day returning to work after vacation to be reminded that coming back from vacation does to meaning turning off our opportunity to continue to live. Thank you Derek

Something I've learned over the past 20 years is that a fleeting thought from one person can significantly change another person's life for the better. As a result, I've learned to share my thoughts in music, writing, speeches, and on social media. The impact has been immense and far reaching!

This is what I see you doing here, with this blog and your newsletters. Your words have definitely inspired me in various ways over the years.

Inspiring as always Derek. A couple of things stand out here from what I've just read:
- the fact that you seem to have always been a big action taker and it's not that you developed this after you made your millions
- what I'm noticing about a lot of people who are very successful in life, you don't get to see in here about the persistence of how long they spent on something. You spent a couple of years trying to get into those gigs whereas a lot of people would have tried for a little while and given up.

I love reading books because I often find that sometimes unrelated things connect in your head so I love the synergies that reading books gives you.

Derek, I'm curious...this seminar you went to called Doing Music and Nothing Else by Peter Knickles...where and when was it?

I was living in Westchester County in the fall of 1992/winter of 1993 and went to one of his seminars somewhere near that area. Could it be we went to the same one??

I moved off to LA to go to Musicians Institute a few months later, and you most likely moved off to Portland. Funny if we were at the same seminar!

-Christopher
1993 midtown Manhattan. ☺ Probably the same one. See Eric Nordhoff's comment, above. — Derek

These are real gems and I love that true principles can be found anywhere, even in fiction fantasy, when some random character says something that resonates your soul like perfect pitch.

I see wisdom in finishing books to the end, but also enjoy a lot of freedom from giving myself permission to not finish a book I’m not curious, surprised by, or enjoying. Unless it’s by recommendation, then I’ll usually employ enough effort.

Thank you for sharing; I needed this to re-arrange my reading list. :)

While I haven't kept a list, these books sprung to the front of my mind when reading this:

1. The Daily Stoic
2. Stumbling on Happiness
3. I Will Teach You to Be Rich

The Daily Stoic showed me how to wield a calm mind. I used to poke fun at my late grandmother growing up, who would start every morning with Bible devotionals. It changed my perspective on those memories; different books, similar purposes. I've gifted it to so many people.

Stumbling on Happiness taught me that there are many paths to it, and most of them illogical. That abundance of choice is more burden than blessing, and that my "Type A" efforts are better spent elsewhere. (I actually picked this book up based on sive.rs/book/StumblingOnHappiness)

I came across Ramit Sethi's book after graduating high school and getting my first paycheck. In it, he teaches people to identify their cultural and emotional relationship with money, fantasize what a "rich life" would look like to them, and organize their finances to spend guilt-free on what matters most to them. He weaves practical financial know-how with philosophies similar to one of yours: sive.rs/richand

We live in a unique time - a time when emptiness is saught after and celebrated. Good post Derek. When is enough enough. AND something good to learn from this is that "smart" ain't the end goal for fullness. IQ without EQ and WQ is vulnerable to this emptiness.

I was just thinking about people at my work who are going through "26 books this year" or similar and thought there's no way they're going to remember anything, let alone the important things, from their reading. I'm sharing this story with them on why I'm not trying to hit a number.

You pop into my email at crucial moments.

A reminder to contemplate my ambitions.
A reminder that having them and being a good person is possible.
A reminder that hard work and intellectual curiosity pays off.
A reminder to seek perspective.

Thank you for your perspective.

Big fan.
Respectfully,
Keri

I don't have four sentences from four books, but if I had to name 4 thought leaders that I listen to, I'm pretty sure Derek Sivers would be one of the 4.

It was something you said in one of your books or posts, which I keep thinking about 'til this day: "When you make a business, you get to make a little universe where you control all the laws."
☺ — Derek

Taking the ideas of this article to heart. As always, your advice and message hits at the right time in my life. Transition is only a week ahead of me and, though I know it’s the right path for me, I’ve been very anxious about taking it. Thankfully, your words brought some much needed comfort.

Your wisdom is beyond compare.

In a society always chasing more, you are chasing fulfillment.

You are a great role model for all of us.

Oh My!
Thank God 'you' landed in my inbox today.
My BFF and I spoke a few minutes before about the riches in our lives. By far, memories of sitting around the dinner table en famille (+ friends) constitute our most valuable wealth.
Your pieces say everything necessary in 3-4 sentences. Then I hit all the links to read more.
Thank you Derek.

Derek, thanks for sharing those insights from books…. A few years back, i walked away from a lot, religious beliefs, political ideologies, worldview…and when asked by a few people, why dont you believe, think or act this way…my answer is always, oh i started reading more widely and in areas i have not ideas about… it changed my life

I love this.
I have seven years of art college behind me and an up and down, 40-year, professional career as a graphic designer. I've been evicted four times. I've always read books and never stopped learning.
My business struggles to stay above water in design has led me, at 73, to read economics and business books.
I'm also reading Homer and Herodotus as I know very little about the ancients.
And I've worked at Trader Joe's, in Chelsea, New York, for nearly three years. 8000 customers a day. Talk about a switch. But at the end of the year I have no savings. I have been very conflicted at not using my design skills to earn a living. But I have also met amazing people, from every country on earth, every single day.
It's also fascinating to watch how people behave around food. It's ritualistic. Animalistic.

I never want to work as a freelancer again, on my own, at a home computer.
I have to be around people.

But I'm itching to move on.

Thanks for great brevity in your posts!

Cheers,

Howard

These are beautiful, and true. I feel them to be true in my chest, and they are still scary enough to me that I can't do any

Your line at the end, "all the way to the end, looking for another sentence that will change my life" - love it
I was considering not finishing a John Steinback novel (travels with charley in search of America), struggling to focus, but now I want to read it to the end, tonight.
Keep doing what you do.


☺ Thank you. I hope my four examples didn’t distract from that last line, which was meant to be the main point. — Derek

Fantastic. The surprise thing is massive. I work every day to look at the world from the place of wonder. If I am in that context, turning on the faucet to run water for brushing my teeth is surprising. So much has to happen just so I can brush my teeth. So many people are working for years to improve my oral health!!!! It doesn’t always happen. And when it does it’s amazing, surprising, and humbling. It’s also useful, not true. Thank you for sharing your life.

LOVE this Derek...
I grew up in a book household. When my dad died we had to dispose of 20,000 + books (and another 20k+ LP's, CD's!)

I too have lived outside the US for many years, traveling, exploring, learning. And although I didnt make 22M, I made enough and decided that grinding more had diminishing returns...

Thanks so much for your musings.

BTW I bought your Colors of Asia book, I loved it. I lived throughout Asia for 3 years so it brought back many memories.

JP

The first thing that came to my mind was not from a book but from someone.
I am not an English native speaker. When I first arrived in Australia during the mid 1990s. I had difficulty understanding the accent. My English was also not that good
The person said to me that.
"You are so stupid. It takes you two hours to watch 60 Minutes."

I did not fully understood his insult until much later in life. I took it as an advice that I need to putting extra effort to accomplish my goals.

The only one of the three I've tried significantly was #3 when I flew to Texas from Canada to get to know the woman who eventually became Wife #2. Now we split our time between Canada and Texas; snowbirds.

Hi Derek,

I loved this post, I thought I'd say so. I find it challenging to stop trying to be that "successful" person. Creating goals and trying to attain them, when all i really want to do is create music. Books, photos, artworks. The biggest challenge being, to remember how having more $ only brought different challenges. I bought 7 acres in NM, things kind of went sideways with my elbows when I hit about 60. Anyway, I find slowing down quite challenging, but I need to build a place out on that 7 acres. What a quagmire. LoL I had no major point to make, but to tell you I liked your 4 reminders. That's what it was like for me. Now I'm like... what next? Oh yeah, that's right. Chop wood carry water. :o) --walk in peace

Powerful words and powerful actions, Derek!
For me off the top of my head 2 lines I've come across stand out: 1) "Life is less about making a living and more about making a life that's worth living." 2) "You never make a shot you don't take."
And 3 of mine rise to the surface: 3) "Risk is its own reward." 4) "Pain is the difference between what we want for ourselves and what G-d wants for us" 5) "There's nothing more entertaining than saving lives."

So good. I think we humans are wired, the theist among might say made by God, to enjoy spending time in the written word like that.

Nice. Thank you.
I appreciate being reminded of the unique qualities of reading the books.
Of the books you mentioned how would you rate them as valuable general theme. Beyond the “single gem”.

In the L.A. area in the mid-90s, I also attended the 'Doing Music and Nothing Else' weekend conference with Peter Knickles. He offered a full refund at noon on the first day if you didn't think it was for you. The first morning, he explained the music business in terms that made it crystal clear that this program was NOT for the faint of heart and certainly not for people who were living in their own rock-star fantasies. I remember 3-4 attendees took him up on the offer and left in disgust. The rest of us (including you, Derek!) got quite an education with no sugarcoating. Knickles disappeared after that, and I've never seen or heard anything about him since. I still have the book and conference notes, but they are now quite dated, as the information was useful before the internet explosion.
Wow! I have another great Peter Knickles story, actually. I should tell this story somewhere else, but here it is: I did keep in touch with him for a few years, and in July 1999 I talked with him the day before MP3.com was doing their public IPO. They gave all musicians the chance to buy stock at some low amount, so I did. He told me, “Put a SELL LIMIT ORDER on that stock for $X" (I forget which amount.) I had no idea what he was talking about, since I had never traded stock before, I opened my schwab.com account just for this, but he explained it and I did what he said, trusting him without understanding. Sure enough the next day his advice saved my ass because the stock flew way up, my sell limit order kicked in and sold all the stock at a high price, then it fell back down after schwab.com had sold all my shares. His little advice made me $50,000 that day. I lived off that money for the next two years. I did thank him profusely the next day. But we lost touch after that. So yeah he was like a fairy godfather in my life twice! — Derek

"Whats obvious to you is amazing to others."

I read that from an absolute gem of a human. Thanks for all you do, Derek.
Thank you. ☺ sive.rs/obvious — Derek

It took major courage for you to take the actions required of yourself for yourself.

I feel stuck trying to meet the expectations of others.

The second half of life is upon me and I’m struggling mentally. Nothing seems as easy as it used to be.

aw Derek! Yes, yes,yes. thank you for sharing your process. I too have had deep shifts from books. one was, 'The continuum process' ( I think that's what it's called). I had just gave birth and read that book and changed my whole parenting approach- profound. It's about a tribe in the amazon- they don't put their babies down for 9 months and carry them around in a sling. And then a more earth-centric child rearing approach. so good.

also there's the book 'the gift' by hafiz, translated by daniel ladinski- profound.

let's see...right now it's non-violent communication, by marshall rosenberg- phenominal way to communicate! read it once, twice, now a third time...starting to get the hang of it.... highly recommend. xo
just to name a few...

Man's search for meaning. Viktor frankle
To live a life that feels purposeful you must have a purpose greater than just yourself.

Comfortable with Uncertainty
Pema Chodron

Most of us live life avoiding all the things that cause suffering and cling on tightly to the things that we love for fear of losing. The opposite would bring more inner peace. Lean into the sharp edges of life and let go of your strangle hold over everything that you love

The Endless Practice
Mark Nepo

To learn how to ask for what you want, only to practice accepting what you are given, that is the journey of life.

The light within
Mary hulnek

It's not the issue, it's how you relate to the issue

Again... your perspective resonates with mine !
Thanks for sharing!
Sometimes it gets lonely out here...

Dan
www.danbonow.com
808.634.8786

if you get a spare moment - see if my uplifting Psyche SoulJazz moves you...
Playing Int'l Alt Organ since the mid 60's - ORGANic & Original

I am looking for an Int'l distributor for new and archival music...

Love this! So cool seeing the impact of a handful of words. Thank you for sharing.

Beautiful, as always

I too read books for the hopes of having my mind changed and expanded. Most of my opinions and cherished perspectives of the world came from books.

"Anything you want" is one such - it radically changed my mind on what is feasible for myself professionally, and how that differs from what everyone and their dog tried to impress upon me throughout the years.

When I see an email from Derek Sivers, I always open it and find nuggets of wisdom and perspective. Thank you for these!

When I'm feeling down or lost, I throw on the audio book of "27 Ways to Live" or "Hell Yeah or No", and am brought up from a slowly sinking ship.

Going to check out some of these books as well.

Oh, and the book that really struck me recently was David Epstein's "Inside the Box," which shares stories of constraints and how they fuel creativity. Also life changing.

o yes, and all your books- actually ALL your writing (for example, this article...). thank you so much for your willingness to share your unique brilliance and the profound way you move through the world.

About discipline as a means to freedom:
"Discipline has an integral relationship to freedom. Without discipline we can’t tackle anything other than what befalls us. Discipline is taking on an activity outside of what would naturally arise for us without such a discipline. [...] [The] ability to create a discipline is what allows you to get free of your own immediate self drives. Without discipline we find no access to freedom. When truly free, we don’t need discipline, and yet are free to create any discipline."
— The Book of Not Knowing , Peter Ralston

National Association of Campus Activities! That org gave me so much life and changed my college years. <3

Sometimes we choose the book.

Other times, it chooses us.

Hi Derek,
I’m reading a book called On the road to find out by Cat Stevens. It basically describes his life in music and eventually finding Islam. It occurred to me ½ way through the book that my journey to find out hasn’t happened yet. I’m still looking for that peace that always seems to allude me. I did realize that I have matured a lot the last couple of years and my path seems a slightly clearer. Thanks for your insight and advice.

Hi.
Great quotes.
#1. Wish I could be more like that, makes sense to change alot. Keeps the path open, new people, new places and skills. Maybe could help solve the 'if only I knew what I liked/wanted I'd be happy'.
#2. Fortune favours the brave.
#3. Feels connected to #1. Maybe the secret sauce.
#4. Sound logic. I like it. Make big money then escape to chase new horizons.
Thank you for the emails. Always make me pause.

love it. I have also learned to appreciate those moments, quotes, passages etc that make a deep impact.

Once again your writing finds me at exactly the right time. I've kept your Hell Yeah book on my desk for the last year as my compass. I did it. I left my soul sucking, great paying job to go back to school to become a counselor - a secret dream for over a decade. I'm possibly the oldest unpaid intern ever and see my first client next Friday. Hell Yeah!

Love this short simple yet powerful summary Derek.

I recently met my 13yr old daughters best friends dad for the first time. When talking about his 3 kids he told me how unlike the 2 girls, his 15yr old son is being home schooled, loves music, solo sports and is able to surf daily because he can complete the education tasks in record time. So I shared your first Tim Ferris interview with him as I think it will encourage him to continue his own path & hack life … I think you said ‘normal speed is for chumps’ - or similar

Blessings Derek, appreciate what you wrote about making money! I'm in the place where i'm realizing i love and romanticize the role of "the underdog" but realized in some soul searching, the love for the identity may be putting a governor on the success i hope to have with my endeavors and career. I feel like we all love a good underdog story but in order for the story to really move us we need the pay off lol :) any thoughts on the topic are appreciated.

Blessings,
Samson

Derek, you are so amazing every time I read anything you write. You are wiser than the Ancient Greek philosophers :) Thank you for always making me think. And finding nuggets of helpful wisdom. PS - I also read Doing Music and Nothing Else by Peter Knickles and bought the cassette tapes etc. Since the age of 18 I have been doing music and nothing else and making a great living at it :)

I have long wondered why extremely rich folks feel the need to keep making more. $30 million is way more than I have, and way more than I need.
Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone thought that $30 million was enough?
Thanks Derek for noticing the sentences. :-)

Thanks for sharing. Appreciate your generosity. Been following you for years. In my experience, amongst the finest moments of my life, the joy of giving without expecting anything in return, and to lift a fellow human being’s spirit, even if for a moment is priceless.
Ken

Your books have had this effect on me, Derek.

And here's a couple you said when we met in person in Mexico City in 2023:

"I travel to inhabit philosophies."

and

"My definition of home is a place without obstacles."

I relate to the heart of your message's. In the first one, you talked about not growing after two years of work in one job.

To be honest, most people see me as a failure. I don’t currently make money, and I’ve tried getting a job for over a year, but a low on the list of who people want to hire.

I stopped working 7 years ago because of health problems and working 40 hours a week was only making my issues worse.

But before that I’ve had 4 completely different jobs and i left each of them for the same reason. I was bored and stressed. After a year I wasn’t growing much AND my pay had hit its ceiling. This was the same for all my past jobs.

Now that i’m in a position that i need to find work, I hit a familiar wall. I have no positive of experiences of working and being paid fairly for it. What’s even funnier was I loved school and excelled at it. College was the last time I can remember being successful.

I’m glad you were able to change your life and circumstances to what you want.

Becky

Changing jobs, changing location, changing habits, changing anything helps stick the brain in learning mode, and learned very early that I must constantly be in this mode or I feel stuck.

For example: I walked away from a lucrative sales job after 3.5 years and went back to waiting tables. Never going to be anything resembling happy in an office. Its a terribly unnatural setting, and doesnt produce anything. Just shuffles numbers around.

Bounced around the country for several years, and ince this book is complete, I feel a move to Texas or the southwest coming. Maybe south or central America, providing I can sell enough copies.

It always amazes me when people can break down the ideas I came to intuitively and help me understand them. This detailed analysis is not a skill I possess.

Have you "read" book by listening to the audio format? What's your opinion on audio books?

"The Hitchhikers guide to the Universe" made me drop out from school.

Not because of any particular sentence. It was just funny.

I was miserable in school and caught myself laughing despite it. The book teleported me to a much better world. I realised if I could be happy just reading and writing books that would be enough for me.

With enough practice maybe I'll even make money from it. I now write on mindvoyage.substack.com

How awesome.
There is a saying in Spanish that says: "al buen entendedor, pocas palabras", which translates to: "to someone who is (ready to) understand, (even a) few words (are sufficient)". Thank you for being a receptive student, and a generous "sharer". I have done some of the things you have, living in another country, and doing crazy things, including right now, not working and living minimally in the smallest town I have ever lived in. I also lived in NYC, many, many steps "behind you" in creative pursuits. My deal is to write, and I hope to publish something worthwhile soonish.

Thank you, Derek :-)

Thank you for sharing Derek. You reminded me of a challenge I lived by but haven't practiced in a long time. Do something everyday that scares you.

I have read so many books that have changed my life. And I’m always looking for something awesome and life-changing. New perspective that stir the pot in a really good way. Somehow… I haven’t read any of these. So… Thank you! I’ve been leaning toward audiobooks lately. They seem easier to take in. But I only like it if the audio narration is done really well. So if you have recommendations in that arena… Feel free to let us know. Thank you, Derek!

Island is an under rated novel, of which Huxley has a few.

Another one that influenced my life is Magister Ludi (The Glass Bead Game) by Hesse.

Derek thank you, these are wonderful. I was recently asked about key advice (for my singing career). I took a weekend seminar once and the last thing the teacher, Carolyn Myss, said (and she said if we remembered nothing else, to remember this) was: "Between security and risk, risk is always the right choice." This is an extraordinary statement, but I took it to heart, and have lived my life this way, pretty much always, since.
It's a little tricky, because there are different kinds of security and risk! So, I believe it takes some thoughtfulness, not just assuming the obvious—but it has truly been amazing how wonderfully it has guided my life.
I love that quote from Abraham Maslow: sive.rs/bye-bye-baby — Derek

Thanks, Derek, for sharing your experience. I really appreciate you taking the time to share what you learned from it.

One of the best books I’ve read about building wealth is Pay Yourself First by Lynn O. Hight.

One lesson from the book that really stayed with me is that accumulating wealth comes down to five important steps:

1. Money skills
2. Income
3. Savings
4. Investment
5. Time

These five steps have stuck in my mind because they show that building wealth isn’t about getting rich quickly. It’s about developing the right financial skills, increasing your income, saving consistently, investing wisely, and giving your money enough time to grow.

Money skills + Income + Savings + Investment + Time = Wealth.

That’s a simple formula, but a powerful one.

Hi Derek,
I LOVE what you have just shared.....

I also did NACA before cell phones, late 80's and got my first showcase in LA! Then did my first tour in my Toyota Corolla staionwagon. It was a good go and I made $$ from my music career.

Now I'm living in a foreign country and was able to buy my first house as an artist and musician!!! I always wanted this and could not understand how people did it!

Also loved receiving your 4 books!

Thank you for all that you share!
All the best!
Lynn

This is saucy

Absolutely inspiring, and beautiful. As always...

Great topic, Derek. Many decades ago I read, not in a book, but in an issue of Organic Gardening magazine, a story about a successful organic gardener. When asked to what he contributed his success, he replied, “Doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.” That sentence stuck with me, and over the years I’ve found it to be very helpful. And not just for gardening.

Derek I really like your point of view. I am motivated by learning like you. Have you ever read “The Motivation Code” by Todd Henry? Anyways, I read The Island a long time ago and the part that always stuck with me was that kids on the island were not stuck with only one family. And the birds chirped “here and now”.
Big fan of the book recommendations I’ve picked up from you, thanks!
Lucas

I was in jail after leaving everyone I cared about in the wake of my addictive path of destruction I read "The Seawolf" by Jack London. Wolf Larsen was the antagonist but he had this perspective of life as a fermenting yeast. About fighting to feel alive, earning it.

Ive been trying to keep that feeling for 7 years now and just as Humphrey gained strength and resilience from being aboard a ship with psychotic sailors I was able to stand my ground and remain a good man thru strength.

Love your stories and resolve.

I totally agree. I used to be Managing Director for some companies. I earned a lot in that time but I also losed a time spending with my family, especially for my two daughters in a little age. So I quit, and I have started my little business in training.

I earn my time back. Now, I can fully spend my time with them. Also, I have time to write songs!

Fun fact, you talking about How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis on a podcast with Tim Ferriss was an a moment for me. The way you both talked about it made me ponder and self reflect. I got a lot of personal insights out of that long reflection. It was a year ago and I was 35 at the time. I am not rich nor do what I want to be, but how can I enjoy each and every day.

I am avid but slow reader. I suspect these books may end up on my book self some time in the future. Thanks for always sharing your thoughts and experiences.

I don't understand the desire to amass money. For what? To buy what? Stuff? Property? What's the difference between your house and someone else's? Or a public space? Your house is empty, elsewhere has people. Your stuff is for you, but community things let you experience the joy of others' creativity.

A private business that enriches you, for why? So you can look at your employees and wonder if they resent your outsized profit on their labor? So you can make life changing decisions for other people? So you can measure yourself constantly against richer entrepreneurs while trying to stay humble around poorer friends?

Make co-ops. Spread the profit, spread the wealth. Lucked into money? Spend it on the neighbors, friends, libraries. What else could money possibly be useful for? To think I'm somehow special enough to be in charge of distributing such a massive amount of resources without anyone else's input, let alone the people who contributed to the amassing of those resources, to me seems high arrogance.

800 million, christ. Even 30, Jesus. Spend down to 4 and you'll be set for life anywhere in the world and still leave plenty behind for the kids. What more is there? Honestly what more?

$30 million sounds about right. Enough to live well and not worry about money. Too much more and you feel obligated to do something meaningful with it.

Always love what you share. Thanks Derek.

This hit me very hard and all I could think was how x conversations with x people changed my life forever instead of books which came later on for me.

Loved the article! Keep’em coming!

Derek, most humans read, learn about, to just stay informed and to flaunt that they too know about xyz. And you, you read to understand, to put it in practice and challenge if it's just a cool idea or something worth living it. I am inspired to read this from you, I have massive admiration for humans who 'live it'.

Thank you for this specific list rather than a generic “smart people read!” exhortation. I’ll give you one of mine as a small thank you, it was “Irrationality the enemy within”.

www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1051446.Irrationality

The main thing I took from it was that so much of the time you don’t know, but so many people find that uncomfortable, so they prefer to think they do know. Therein lie mistakes. When I just got comfortable that I don’t know, and that I can wait, I got to learn a lot more about the world because.

Thanks for these precious insights. So many books changed my Life the same way as you describe, but if I will keep only one it s « I am that » of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. I spend 4 days & nights totaly dedicated only to read it fully, deeply in 2020. Today the title only remains by itself the one sentence that remind me to move from person to presence.

Hi Derek!

Thanks for sharing the insights.

I often see quotes and paragraphs on social media that say that after a certain amount of money you earn in life, it really doesn't matter.

Even though I haven't experienced it in my life 😆

Way too far to go, maybe.

Hey Derek - I walked the 'How To Get Rich' trail. I had an Ad Agency in Durban, South Africa, for seven years. The stress levels nearly killed me. Fortunately, sold it when I had sufficient money to live a simple life - never been happier...!

Your thoughts on books, your book notes, and the books themselves have been an inspirational treasure for the past decade. I’m so grateful to you.

Thank you for all your books.

Derek,

You writing seems to always strike a cord with me. I appreciate what you do. Keep learning and always be surprise makes so much sense. Will be on my checklist. Hope all is well.

Appreciate you,
Patrick

The word that stays with me from your four sentences is that a single line can do in an instant what years of trying can't reach.
Mine didn't come from a page, though.
It came from thousands of small sentences, doing their work underneath, out of sight, for decades.
A stream doesn't become an ocean in one drop, but it's one drop that makes it overflow.

Then, not long ago, pof, mine overflowed. The chemistry with my mother changed, someone I'd believed I was inseparable from for so long.

All at once, with no way to explain how, only that it did.

Thanks for sharing Derek,
Will try to read Island now.. sounds like a fun book ! :)

You are quite spontaneous ill say in the deception but very persistent in exception that's excellence !

Not a book, but a newsletter

"I'd rather have 2% hate the real me than 100% applaud a performance." - Andrew Wilkinson

This is from a newsletter not a book but Andrew's book, "Never enough", had the biggest impact because it made me buy Derek books which had the biggest impact by far (I shaped my whole business around "Anything you want")

A couple quotes from "The courage to be disliked" (yeah all my quotes show that I might have a people pleasing problem). This book had a huge impact on the kind of dad I became (had 3 babies in 2 years). "The courage to be happy" was also a big influence

"Being praised essentially means that one is receiving judgement from another person as 'good'. And the measure of what is good or bad about that act is that person's yardstick..." - The courage to be disliked (p188)

"Once you know how big the world is, you will see that all the hardship you went through [...] was a storm in a teacup. The moment you leave the teacup, that raging storm will be gone, and a gentle breeze will greet you in its place." - The courage to be disliked (p175)

I recently moved from NZ to the Netherlands, and found that both book 3 and 4's lessons will travel with me.
Thanks for sharing great lessons everywhere you decide to share them!

Thanks a lot Derek for sharing!
The fourth book hit me hard and has changed my perspective
Will go read the other three :)

You are a lot more impulsive than I am. It’s interesting how reading a few things can have such a big impact on your life. My life changed when out of curiosity I read a free report on top places to retire overseas and realized it was a great fit for me.

I never thought about the learning value of surprise and need to keep that in mind.

lots of valuable insights, has spurred me ok to read more

Thanks Derek.

I experience your writings as small, non-pushy, nuggets of spaciousness. And I appreciate that.

I find that being able to immerse oneself into an otherworldly narrative is just like leaving one's world behind and entering another. The great thing about it is you can change your life in an instant without disrupting the household.

Planting trees and writing poetry. I have planted some trees and was always curios about poetry. I guess I should that pick up. Why planting trees? Probably because you do something worthwhile and seeing and instant success. Working on the money part, I take your advice and switch jobs up completely. Would would be the opposite of being a soldier?

Every time I hear from you, You change my perspective for the better, Thank you.

I write unique songs in different genre's including Rock, Jazz, Blues, Classical, Rap, Folk... with a mixture of arrangements, melodies and chorus that is all mixed with effects by an experienced sound engineer.
My new band includes Keys, Bass, guitar + one, percussionist, my unique harmonica and vocals that alternate from baritone to tenor with two back-up vocalists to increase the layers of sound and emotion.

Planting trees and writing poetry. I have planted some trees and was always curios about poetry. I guess I should that pick up. Why planting trees? Probably because you do something worthwhile and seeing and instant success. Working on the money part, I take your advice and switch jobs up completely. Would would be the opposite of being a soldier?

I can relate to that. The right "thing"(book, experience, etc.) at the right moment is indeed truly powerful.

To the last point about getting rich. 30 million sounds amazing but for me, it’s unlikely unless I hit the lottery. Fortunately, I am a blue collar worker in the Nat Gas field with a pension and 29 years of service under my belt. I’ve made a pact with myself to retire in 8 years, 11 months at 55 years old. It’s my rich life. Retired with a paycheck still coming in and the freedom to do as I please and not be on a schedule. I guess my point is, most of us stress over trying to get rich with money but maybe we just need to be rich in freedom 🤷‍♂️ Thanks for your email 🤙🏻

I appreciate your perspectives on how to shape your lifestyle based on what we seem to instinctively know about ourselves.

While listening a podcast with Tim Ferris, I remain fascinated by those who stay in the game too long and, in contrast, those who have the courage to take a risk completely reinvent themselves and try something new.

As always, thanks for sharing your experiments and perspectives along the way, Derek.

Cheers!

As usual, Derek opens my eyes to a different way to see the world. What I love is now sharing that with my students - thank you!!!

Great post. Love reading what you send me. Thanks.

Take care and much aloha!

Mark

Indeed. Thank you for inspiration.


As Korean Film Critic Dongjin Lee once said..
"Movies are Liquor,
while Books are Water."

Hey Derek,
That’s a wonderful share thank you!
Also to note - you’ve got some great followers as the comments section is a joy to read too!

Just yesterday I heard, that even 3 Million is enough...
Derek, I stumbled over your email several times during the day, I finally read at least this post, and it is good!

These 4 Sentences + Your Capacity to act on them = Changes in your life

The Capacity is an undeniable ingredient.

Why some people have that ingredient , is another story .

❤️🙏

What struck me about this article is not really the four sentences themselves, but what you did after reading them.

Most of us read something powerful, think “that’s a great idea,” maybe underline it, and then continue living exactly as before.

You actually changed jobs, changed how you made money, moved around the world, and changed your relationship with money because of ideas you encountered in books.

I’ve been traveling for the last 10 months and questioning a lot about what I want my life to look like. I’m realizing that there is a big difference between collecting interesting ideas about freedom and actually experimenting with them.

Maybe the value of a great sentence isn’t how much it makes you think.

It’s what you do differently after reading it.

I’m glad to be back.
Yo are always an inspiration.
Grateful you’re here.

The book that changed my life is The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre. It lays the groundwork for existentialist philosophy to explain that we are "condemned to be free." Since then, whenever I feel like I can't escape a situation, I realize that I am the one putting myself in it...

Wonderful!
Aldous Huxley's writing becomes more profound and resonate with each day, world event, crisis, etc..
Thank you for sharing.

I love reading books too, and for the same reasons you gave to begin with. I always have a book by my bedside and I often read books I like more than once.
I can think of one book that changed my life in a big way. It was Dianetics The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron. Hubbard. I bought Self Analysis, the book recommended to follow on with. I ended up joining Scientology and was really keen on it for several years. It restored my confidence in myself and had some other benefits, including that I quit smoking and drinking. Not because you had to but because I wanted to and succeeded. But I was becoming increasingly disillusioned and eventually left. I saw that Scientologists in reality were no more capable than other people. There's a Leonard Cohen song titled "Famous Blue Raincoat," in which he asks "Did you ever go clear?" I didn't. "Clear," btw, is a Scientology word and a desired state that Scientologists believe in and can pay a lot of money trying to achieve.

Interesting. I believe I followed (not fully) #1 and #3. #2 is what I dreamed about doing, but could never achieve the focus required. And #4? I'm comfortable, achieving that through a more traditional path (working and saving). I also consider myself to be rich in a social sense, I will leave the world better than I found it in my own small way. (Not leaving any time soon, however.)

What a blessing to see what changed your life for you!! Thank you for sharing these four quotes. All the best to you, Derek! God bless.

Here's mine. It wasn't even a sentence it was an aside in brackets after a sentence that perfectly explained what I didn't understand but kept trying to articulate.

In Antifragile Taleb said something like - people think they are being rational when they are rationalizing (which are complete exact opposites).

I stopped reading and thought about that for about 30 min. I was dealing with a guy who's a genius but he just kept coming up with reasons for things after the fact even though I knew he wasn't thinking about them before hand. He was rationalizing decisions after the consequences. Just straight up making shit up but he's so smart everyone just went along with it. I dealt with him closely and knew the reasons he was giving weren't the reasons for his actions.

This single line changed the way I view everyone who rationalizes decisions and gave me a deeper respect for people I saw were being truly rational BEFORE they knew the results of their actions.
I love that idea, too. (The contrast between rational and rationalizing.) It’s not his. I think Benjamin Franklin also had a version of it, so the idea has been around forever. — Derek

:) This for an impactful sentence:
"After reading that one sentence in this little novel, I quit, and that was the last time I ever had a job."

This made me think, Derek.

Perhaps it wasn’t just four sentences that changed your life.

It was four sentences you were ready to act upon.

Thousands may read the same sentence and turn the page. Someone else stops. Something connects. Then they do something differently.

I increasingly think learning is not about how much we know. It is about how changeable we remain in response to what we encounter.

And sometimes, perhaps, 300 pages exist just to prepare us for one sentence on page 301.

"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking."
— Meditations
This and Tolkiens Hobbits and Voltaires Candide have inspired me to do the same charmingly boring job for the last 20 years. Living vicariously through all you amazing adventurers and globe trotters.

Your book Anything You Want transformed my small business, and I'm still hooked! I've read Paradox of Choice and How Buildings Learn (to name a few) because you recommended them. Thank you for all that you do.

This is one of the reasons I read voraciously. If it doesn't directly change my life monumentally, it has and will work wonders on thinking and decision-making ability which will ultimately very probably lead you to more suitable places in life. Your 4 examples demonstrate this beautifully.

I would say you are truly a free spirit, Derek.

For the past two years, I've been thinking about the notion that the answer is only meaningful to corresponding question.

The four books, to some extent, answered questions you already had at that time.

And recently, with the introduction of AI, newly published books are increasingly AI-inflated. I would say now that books are like wines: the older, the better it tastes.

For me the moral of the article is that no matter how profound a realization is, it has to be acompanied by an action. You read a sentence and then moved. In hindsight all of those bets paid off but at the time you didn't know what's going to happen. And yet you acted. :)

I always appreciate your perspective Derek. Unlike you, I will never be rich, but I have enough, essentially. This allows me to constantly pursue new knowledge, self-improvement, and try to cultivate as many situations for myself where I experience surprise as I can. It can be a little chaotic and uncertain at times, but life gets so boring when you think you know and understand everything. When life presents you with something new, a question to which you can only answer with honesty "Gee, I don't know." I look on that as the most wonderful sort of opportunity for adventure.

so powerful how one line can change an entire life trajectory, an entire life story.

this hits hard Derek. my wife and I came home to hong kong with our two kids two years ago, and as i wonder why the itch to move again starts creeping in, your post landed.

Wow, yes, I did enjoy this very much! One of the earliest lines from a book I remember that hit me like a truck was from Bruce Lee's book, I was in 10th grade, and was being called all kinds of Asian racist slurs and not for truly rational reasons became disillusioned with Christianity and this line and this book got me started on getting really into martial arts, Bruce Lee, being proud of being Asian and eastern philosophy. Here it is - I wish neither to possess nor to be possessed. I no longer covet 'paradise'. More important, I no longer fear 'hell'.

The medicine for my suffering I had within me from the very beginning but I did not take it. My ailment came from within myself, but I did not observe it, until this moment.

Now I see that I will never find the light unless, like the candle, I am my own fuel, consuming myself.

I love these comments, Derek, and how you can connect these works and the gems within them to the arc of your life. I often say that life is simply a series of key decisions and key people (both I can name), and now I must add it is a result of some key phrases in books that shape us! :)

Thank you for your open approach to life and sharing your wisdom with everyone.

I want to be a rich until now. But I always try to don't forget about theat the most important thing is enjoy my days and love others.

I came across this virtual island, an oasis of sorts. Designed by a man named Derek Sivers. He invited me to read a few articles he thought may be of interest. Each one with a tidbit of lived wisdom. Masterfully weaving together experience gathered from a life well lived and well read. He even kindly gave me a template to refuse his request if I should need it. Surprised by what I found and heading Derek’s advice for when one is surprised, I stayed a while. Reading through the articles and comments wondering how something so small could be so vast. Perhaps a curated invitation to respond publicly rather than privately was at the heart of its vastness. I couldn’t have predicted what I’d find, but felt the need to defer any decision before I discovered what I need. And as I’m discovering, I need a fresh perspective from someone who thinks deeply, decides slowly, and lives fully.

Thank you, Derek. I do hope that was not too verbose.

Best fishes,
Sean

Derek,

I'm always amazed when I ask someone - did you enjoy the book? And they say not really but I did get two or three great ideas from it!
Are you kidding me? $20 for three great ideas really!

I think every book has the potential to change your life with one sentence. Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Pink for example.

And of course you're own ability to simplify has stayed with me - When people asked what CD Baby did, you deliberately answered:

“We’re a record store.”

Hi Derek,
I still remember when we met in the elevator at the New Nashville Music Convention a million years ago. Hillbilly Flamenco has since become a self help book, (out soon) and more. I would love to tell you all about it when you have a minute or two.
Thanks for being you brother!

Really interesting read, I completely identify with this notion - I call it gold mining :)

Love this.

I'm not at a place where I can work solely for meaning, purpose, or pleasure just yet. In fact, my experience has been the reverse: I grew up in the new-agey anti work-for-money tradition, and had to learn to grind a bit for an income while pursung my literary and writing passions.

Experiencing the pattern the 'wrong way' around has been frustrating at times, but definitely story-worthy!

i couldn´t agree more i read constantly and almost non stop ,i also love podcast but we have to understand the incredible concentrated value of the book where some expend sometimes 10 years of their life to destiled the wisdom i always said the best investments you ever made are books where for 20 bucks or less u have a decade of insight

Una vez lei una frase "los pequeños detalles hacen la diferencia". Para ser sincero no recuerdo donde. Pero esta historia que cuentas me recordo esa frase. Saludos.

Several sentences come to mind from a "first person" science fiction series about "on the job training for a hero," who is being mentored. He starts as a spoiled high school brat. In "The War Against the Chtorr," the war is against invasive plants and animals from another world.

For folks with common sense, sightings of new animals seem like a hoax, the way Trump followers think climate change is a hoax, or (mistakenly) think tariffs are paid by foreign exporters to our country.

One sentence is to silently ask, "Do I have a contract to talk?" Unless an opinionated person asks for dialogue, I don't feel a need to share when I know they are wrong.

Another is "Don't defend yourself, because if you have to explain then you've already lost." This sentence helps me to act mature.

Another is "Some people would rather die than admit they were wrong."
In the first book they literally die; in the real world, that's like us with no evidence, having expensive vote recounts and having 18 court cases showing an election was normal, but nevertheless clinging to our belief that a certain 2020 election was stolen.... as smaller farms are economically dying.

Wow! Every one of those examples seems like a terrible idea. I like staying in one place, the place which *works* the best, NEVER ever travel. Total focus on music composition and production, markets and economics as well as anything which is interesting, if there's time. I always hated official jobs. Never could see a reason to put a cap on anything, especially money as long as it doesn't create misery. Comfort is good, it lets you seek your difficulty in things which are most important.

And yet, hell yes or hell no is one of the best short and pithy sayings ever! Useful, not true is a superb idea book as well!

Really helpful. Thanks, Derek. Years ago, but brother planned to make loads of money from trading. I said, "Then what?" He grasped it. Meanwhile, I'm still plodding along not wealthy, but working less :o) J

An acquaintance once said to me don’t read anything unless it’s 6000 years old and I read the Bhagavad Gita and one line has always stood out to me “the biggest illusion in the world is the illusion of separation” it’s so true brother and if someone does not agree ask them to pinch their nose and close their mouth and see what happens. Keep up the great work! Love to you and your son. James 🙏💚✨

For me sometimes its a sentence uttered by another human, like my old friend Abbas who used to lean forward and say softly and confidentially ," It doesn't help." Once I really internalized that simple line, it functioned as a road block to destructive thinking, speech and habits. No sadly enough, it did not make me perfect, but it definitely helped. Books are safer than friends though as they don' t judge.

Derek...Sage insight and advice!

We can only live in the day we are in, in the life we are in

I may not reach those 30M$ but being able to work from home, where I can give my kids a hug and kiss my wife is pretty damn high on my list.

Brilliant. The last one hit hard. I'm a medic so sunk cost is high for me and yet I feel a pull to reinvent myself. A long long way from 30 mill though and am enjoying living on less as a choice to see how it feels.

For me it was Henry David Thoreau's "Walden."

He has a line where he basically says, "For the price of a year's rent, a student can build a house to last a lifetime."

I brain-battled to figure out the modern equivalent and eventually bought a trailer in a not-for-profit park, which we lived in for four years as we got on our feet.

Having value usually happens in the right frame of mind. Decisions weigh on me daily as my (Comedy) Writing, Songwriting, Harmonica and Art all cascade from my direction of the day. Saving the world interrupts my heart constantly as I see people struggling. I want to reach out and help.

Ironically, this last sentence - And this is why I read books carefully, all the way to the end, looking for another sentence that will change my life - is the one that made the most impact on me in this article.
I have always been an avid cover to cover reader of books (and magazines) and recently read a few advice pieces that indicated that given that I have an unlimited amount of books to read, but a limited time to live, I should just stop reading books that I don't enjoy. There was even a formula - 100 minus my age - to determine where to make a decision.
After reading this sentence I said to myself - you know what? No.

The TS Elliot poem Four Quartets:
"I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing."

The last quote I wrote in my journal is a song lyric from Zach Bryan's Sun To Me:

"Find someone who grows flowers in the darkest part of you"

I had brain cancer treatment 5 years ago for a tumor in my left frontal lobe, and my nervous system regulation, confidence, and belief that I could exist in this overstimulating world were tanking during my recovery. I tried to go back to normal, working and socializing, resulting in functional seizures that made me super upset and sometimes really angry (anger and panic were the symtoms that led me to finding the tumor) for about 20 mins; I lost friends/friends stopped inviting me to things, and an ex kept telling me I should be able to control it and nobody can live with me bc I throw fits. Living with an amazing, understanding, woman friend while I got the right meds figured out, was life-changing. She had the patience and understanding to talk me down and be empathetic, instead of judging. My boyfriend, now, tells me I am amazing for going through so much and being a happy/positive person. He understands if I get overstimulated/headached/fritzy, that a hug will and a break will make it pass quickly.

I don't like the idea of putting one's happiness or unhappiness in another person's control, but having people in your corner that grow flowers in the darkest part of you, rather than judging and making you think you have to fix yourself or you're not lovable, makes life to much brighter.

It resonates, but in my experience the books become a fertiliser which helps to make right decisions about changes. This material is stored somewhere in our consciousness ready to trigger at the right moment.

This was an interesting commentary about your journey. The individual insights you had from those books changed your path. Now, for the next part of the journey, how do you proceed?

I have always sought integrative influences. Method sets that take at least three, and up to seven, methods / hypotheses / insights to integrate and modulate are what I have used to good effect. In that way I can anticipate risk factors, risk conditions, and unexpected impacts or consequences. The thought process may be of interest to you as you move forward.

These are great turning points. Books have been deeply meaningful to me when they align with deep expertise in a field.

For example, I was an early fan of Epictetus when I was a teenager. The principles of letting go of that which you cannot control still govern much of my internal life and have helped me get through demonstrable struggles.

Thanks for sharing!

For me it was an article "6 Harsh Truths to Make You a Better Person" by Jason Pargin in 2012. I was still a teenager and it made me to go from "world must give me things" to "how can I be useful"

I needed this. Thank you for sharing these. Now I want to identify some life-changing ideas that came to me from books.

Hi Derek and friends!

Inspired by you, I reflected on the books that changed my life. Here’s a little about them and their impact on me:
​
_ 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
I learned a lot from the content, but what was life-changing was how this book made me change the way I read non-fiction.
​
_ Fall of Giants, Ken Follett
It made me rediscover how I love history and how a fiction book can help me remember what I learned back at school!
​
_ Cities for People, by Jan Gehl
I was in architecture college; I was unhappy. After reading this book, I fell in love with urbanism, cities, and found my place in college.
​
_ Millionaire Fastlane, M. J. DeMarco
I had some bad feelings about making or earning money, and this book helped me see things from a different perspective.

:D

i dont have particular sentences that stand out to me from the influential books that ive read; i moreso keep a record of their mission statement

Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker comes to mind

or the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

Blink taught me the power and weight of what it would theoretically be like to live / exist outside of time and to see a multidimensional timeline in the *blink of an eye*

Screwtape taught me there is a spiritual battle for my everlasting soul going on seemingly behind my scenes yet impacting me daily - and that warfare is faught more like used car salesmen than World War 2

fantastic sentences, making me want to pick up a book now and read for surprises & delight. thank you derek