Anything You Want by Derek Sivers – Review

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Review

Rating – 10/10

Anything You Want isn’t a business book; it’s a story about how Derek Sivers built, grew and sold his million-dollar business, CD Baby. Derek’s unconventional approach in business is a huge eye-opener for me. He shares his mistakes, successes, and lessons learned from his entrepreneurial journey.

I was so enlightened after reading Anything You Want because Derek’s words were filled with wisdom. I’ve tried some of his techniques before I even read the book, and it definitely works. I can’t wait to use his other philosophies.

I love the way Anything You Want was written because it feels as if the author is sharing his stories straight at me. The stories were so meaningful that it gave me a different perspective in running my business.

I felt a bit greedy while reading the book because I never realized that I put profits on top of everything that I forgot to prioritize on valuing my customers. I remembered worrying about the profits every time my customers asks for additional work from me.

A few months ago, I was worried that I might not make a ton of money because I was pressured so much by my parents. I only wanted to engage in a business that would generate millions even though I don’t even have any passion for it. Good thing reading about Derek’s philosophies erased all that. I feel much more free to pursue something that I’m really passionate about now.

At first, I wondered what’s with the cover of the book. It looked pretty weird. But later, I found out that it’s sort of a Rorschach test where you see either see your entrepreneurial life as a trap, a passion, a mission, or a job. Like many, I felt trapped when I first pursued my entrepreneurial venture. But all that is about to change because I will be pursuing something I want with a lot of excitement.

I would definitely recommend Anything You Want to anyone that wants to understand the true meaning of becoming an entrepreneur.

Notes

Business is not about money. It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.

Never do anything just for money. When someone’s doing something for money, people can sense it, like a desperate lover. It’s a turnoff.

Making a company is a great way to improve the world while improving yourself. When you make a company, you make a utopia. It’s where you design your perfect world. Whatever you make, it’s your creation, so make it your personal dream come true.

Don’t pursue a business just for your own gain. Only answer the calls for help.

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

Your business plan is moot. You don’t know what people really want until you start doing it. No plan survives first contact with customers.

Starting with no money is an advantage. You don’t need money to start helping people. Starting small puts 100 percent of your energy on actually solving real problems for real people.
You can’t please everyone, so proudly exclude people. By trying so hard to please the big client, you will lose touch with what the rest of the world wants.

The real point of doing anything is to be happy, so do only what makes you happy.

Don’t waste years fighting uphill battles against locked doors. Improve or invent until you get that huge response

Never forget that absolutely everything you do is for your customers. Make every decision – even decisions about where to expand the business, raise money, or promote someone – according to what’s best for your customers. Focus entirely on your existing customers. Just thrill them, and they’ll tell everyone. Care about your customers more than about yourself, and you’ll do well.

Any idea without any execution is worth nothing.

Thousands of businesses are fine without corporate formalities.

Never let leeches sucker you into all that stuff they pretend you need.

You can’t pretend that there’s only one way to do something. Your first idea is just one of many options.

It’s important to know in advance what you value (freedom, innovation, popularity, etc.) to make sure you’re staying focused on what’s important to you, instead of doing what others think you should.
Set up your business like you don’t need the money, and it’ll likely come your way.

Resist the urge to punish everyone for one person’s mistake.

It’s often the tiny details that really thrill people enough to make them tell all their friends about you.

Even if you want to be big someday, remember that you never need to act like a big boring company. Don’t try to impress an invisible jury of MBA professors. It’s OK to be casual.

If your internal processes are always designed to handle twice your existing load, it sends an attractive inviting message to everyone.

When you want to learn how to do something yourself, most people won’t understand. They’ll assume the only reason we do anything is to get it done, and doing it yourself is not the most efficient way. But that’s forgetting about the joy of learning and doing. The whole point of doing anything is because it makes you happy! That’s it! When you sign up to run a marathon, you don’t want a taxi to take you to the finish line.
In the end, it’s about what you want to be, not what you want to have.

Never promise a customer something beyond your full control.

Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business. To be a true business owner, make sure you could leave for a year, and when you come back, your business would be doing better than when you left.
Make sure you know what makes you happy, and don’t forget it.

Delegate but don’t abdicate. To abdicate means to surrender or relinquish power or responsibility.

You’ll know when it’s the right time to sell your company.

No matter which goal you choose, there will be lots of people telling you you’re wrong. Just pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when you’re being the real you and when you’re trying to impress an invisible jury.