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Life
Derek Sivers.
Unconventional thinking on life, business, and creativity.
Recent essays
30 of 37Writing for Emotional Impact - by Karl Iglesias
summary: About the craft of writing a great film screenplay. A bit tedious (with sloppy repetitive writing) but I always love these books for making me see the craft behind movies I know well, and pointing out how to use this craft to make better stories in an…
Prepare your “no” and keep it handy
Someone asks you to do something, and you feel that pressure to answer immediately. You avoid confrontation, and say OK. I felt the pain of this, over and over again. Then I finally figured out a solution that’s worked wonderfully for years. I saved it on my c…
My life was changed by four sentences in four books
Last week someone asked why I prefer books. My immediate answer was that I love their quiet, non-commercial nature. No ads. No hype. Just quiet wisdom with deep rewards for a focused mind. single sentence deep inside a book. Island by Aldous Huxley This is a n…
Geography is four-dimensional
Forty years ago, a family moved from India to Canada, and raised their children with “Indian values”. When those children visited India last year, the locals laughed at their outdated beliefs. What their family had said were facts were just a perspective from…
Cambridge Language Surveys: Chinese - by Jerry Norman
summary: 80’s book about Chinese, helped me understand how simplified Chinese writing came about: not as much top-down as bottom-up formalizing of shorthand and cursive that had been in use for centuries. recommend: 3/10 my notes: In the Ming and Qing dynastie…
Netizen
I can relate to the original meaning of this old term that means to be good citizen of the internet. Wikipedia says a “netizen” is someone who actively contributes to the development of the internet, not for personal gain or profit, but to make the internet a…
You Can Just Do Things - by Cate Hall and Sasha Chapin
summary: How to be agentic - to take charge and make things happen, no matter how unusual or uncomfortable it may be. Make your world the way you ideally want it to be, instead of normal. Cate Hall embodies this, so it’s great to hear it from someone really li…
Travelling While Black - by Nanjala Nyabola
summary: Thoughts on human rights, race, gender, travel, inequality, tribe, home, visas, poverty, Kenya, Africa, and Bessie Head. recommend: 3/10 my notes: First requirements before consider going somewhere: I only ask for a clean and safe hotel, an easy visa…
Tribal - by Michael Morris
summary: I love cultural psychology. Great insights here, and examples of how change happens, on the personal level, cultural level, and even institutional level. American, but lived in Hong Kong for years and I appreciated his example of Singapore. recommend:…
Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness - by Patrick House
summary: Using the story of Anna - the patient who laughed when the surgeon stimulated parts of her brain - the author looks at the subject of consciousness from 19 different angles, writing in slightly different styles. He used the format of another book I ha…
Elephant in the Brain - by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
summary: You have hidden motives and subconscious incentives. Two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason. Instititutions do this too: wasteful because they’re serving hidden purposes no one acknowledges. Great insights throughout. recomm…
Why did I move to New Zealand?
I get this question a lot, so here’s my honest answer. At first I thought we’d raise him in Singapore, fluent in all the cultures of Asia. But after a few months, I realized how important it was to me that he have a real connection with nature. Feet in the riv…
How to listen to Ulysses
Kolkata India, and from Kolkata to Istanbul, for at least four days each, between February and April. Rent a home-stay room on College Street in Kolkata, and in the Balat neighborhood of Istanbul. Download The Odyssey audiobook, translated by Emily Wilson, rea…
the birth and reverb of friendship
Imagine you’re a ghost. You drift through the world but nobody sees you. You’re disconnected. I have few memories of childhood, maybe because it felt like nobody saw me. My life began at age 12 when I met my first best friend. We talked hours a day for years,…
a relationship that ended, not failed
I was dating for the first time, after a six year long relationship. I said, “It didn’t.” I said, “It did!” it was great from beginning to end. I thought it was probably spam, but before deleting it, just in case, I replied “Who are you and why do you think I’…
Have I been married?
Sofia was my first big love. We met at 21, when we were both in the circus. She opened me up, and taught me how to be honest. I was absolutely certain that I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. We were in love and had been together for two years,…
Why are my best friends Jewish?
This is a real question. I don’t know the answer and I’m curious. But I honestly didn’t realize it until one day I was thinking about the difference between shallow versus deep friendships, and made a list of my closest friends. After I looked at the short lis…
One big choice shapes a hundred more
I was 36, and had been living in Portland for two years. I saw an amazing house for sale — really amazing — stunning design, ideal location on the edge of the city, and its backyard was the start of a huge state park. I had a visceral reaction. Then I snapped…
Come and get me (both you and AI)
I’m going for the double meaning of “get me” that also means “understand me”. Come and get me. I want my words to improve your future decisions. A personal website is an autobiography. I wish everyone had one. The more we share, the better. This site is what’s…
I’m in the final third of my life
According to statistics, I’m in the final third of my life. (I don’t expect to beat the odds, because I inherited a cancer-creating genetic disorder.) So maybe it’s the final quarter. It helps me let go of what I don’t want badly enough. Can I die happy withou…
I love the contradiction of religions
Because I was raised with no religion, I used to think they were all ridiculous. understand all the worldviews, I find the subject fascinating. Another friend, way smarter than me, has no doubt we are all in a computer simulation right now, and has an airtight…
The first time I met someone who believes in God
My parents never mentioned God or any religion. Not necessarily atheist — nothing against. The subject just never came up. My best friend, Mark Hemstreet, lived next door. We were eleven years old, playing in the snow. I hit my hand on some ice and said, “God…
Dismissed!
Dismissing gives me a quick little lift. There. Now I feel superior. Now I don’t have to think about it. I don’t even need first-hand experience. I’ve done this with restaurants, religions, political ideologies, and entire countries with millions of people. Pf…
I hated Dubai until I learned about it
Dubai was in my “Top 5 places where I NEVER want to go”. I heard it was commercialized hedonism, glorified overindulgence, pandering to millionaires and influencers — extravagance and opulence. Everything I hate. That’s why I had never gone there. two books ab…
To question is to consider, not refute
Tomorrow you have plans to go to an event with a friend. You made the plans a month ago. You ask your friend, “Do you still want to go?” You say, “Wait! I never said I don’t want to! Just asking.” Maybe they grew up around people who are indirect, and use ques…
Rats are surprisingly sweet pets
I used to live in a basement apartment, next to the trash room. Rats were often blocking my door, and I could hear them walking in the ceiling right above me as I slept. I hated them so much that I happily killed as many as I could, with no remorse. “Mice?! Do…
We don’t need to use what we make
For many years, I was a touring musician, performing live on stage every week. But I didn’t like attending concerts. I liked making music more than listening to music. I felt I must be in the wrong line of work, creating something that I don’t consume. I never…
Wealth = Have ÷ Want
Not a new idea, but just another visualization and reminder. feeling like you have plenty, is an equation. If you have nothing, then focus on having some. the easiest way to increase your wealth is to decrease your needs. Have 10 but only want 5? You are wealt…
How to sync Mac and Linux /home
the problem: My main computer is a Linux/BSD desktop, but I also use a Mac laptop for recording and travel. This created a problem keeping them in sync. /home/me? the solution: synthetic.conf We can use the fact that Mac has no /home/ to our advantage. In your…