Do You Love Derek Sivers? Me Too! Let’s Connect!

In a podcast interview,  Danny Miranda introduced Derek Sivers by saying this:

“You, to me, represent somebody who’s thoughtful, kind, hard-working…just somebody who if somebody else likes them…I know that that’s my type of person. […] You attract an intelligent type of person. To me it seems like all the people who follow your work are…the best word I could use to describe them is intelligent or thoughtful.”

I agree. And I love Derek Sivers. He’s a magnet for thinkers, readers, writers, learners and creators. So I’m writing this article hoping to find out who else is one of his ‘fans’.

If you are one, I’d love to connect with you.

Here’s what I like about him.

Derek Sivers Questions Everything

I dislike people who act as if they’ve found all the answers to the most complicated questions in life, people who want to appear as if they’ve figured life out and act as know-it-alls.

I find Derek to be the opposite of that.

He spends many hours a day writing in his journal asking himself questions and, most importantly, questioning all his answers.

Most people I’ve met in life have strong opinions and beliefs that are not willing to question, let alone change. Derek, however, wants to lose every debate.

Did you read his book called “Anything You Want”, where he tells his stories about how he started, grew and sold CD Baby for $22 million?

Page 1:

“I hope you find these ideas useful for your own life or business. I also hope you disagree with some of them. Then I hope you email me to tell me about your different point of view, because that’s my favorite part of all. (I’m a student, not a guru.)”

That, to me, is a sign of a small ego. How many people do you know that want you to disagree with their ideas? I can’t think of even one.

He’s a True Minimalist

In “I’m a Minimalist with a Home Full of Stuff” — one of my articles — I defined minimalism as the practice of removing what gets in the way between you and the happiest version of you.

Being a minimalist is hard. We’re constantly pulled in different directions, FOMO is rampant, and shiny objects tempt us every day.

Derek, though, defines himself as a monomaniac.

“I get really, really into one thing at a time. I’m really not good at living a super balanced life where I wake up and do an hour of this and three hours of that. I admire people who can do that. I’ve tried, but I get so into what I’m doing that I want to see it through to completion.”

He started to write a book, wrote from morning to evening for 4 years and then published it. I’m so inspired by how he gets rid of anything that stands in the way. This is true minimalism.

One thing at a time.

Love it!

Derek Sivers Writes Succinctly

Derek is the author of “How to Live: 27 Conflicting Answers and One Weird Conclusion”.

The first draft of his book was about 1200 pages. He then spent 2 years editing the book, removing, cutting and trimming words and sentences. Only 113 pages remain from that first draft.

In “How to Live” there’s not a word that shouldn’t be there. No fluff. To the point. No waste. It’s the most succinct book I’ve ever read. Whether you like the book or not, “How to Live” is a work of art.

Writers, take note!

Derek Sivers Personally Replies to Every Email

At the end of every podcast interview, Derek always invites the listeners to email him and say hello. I emailed him several times and he always replied to me (succinctly).

He spent entire days during the pandemic replying to nearly 7,000 emails. In an interview, the host asked him why and how he does that.

Here’s what he said:

“I think it’s important to people. I think that people are in disbelief that there’s a real person on the other end. I think people have gotten so cynical with Automation and corporate business or whatever you want to call it, but they’re thinking that they’re just talking into the void. And so I like to show that I’m a real person and it’s also where I get a lot of my ideas.”

He cares. I find this fascinating. Derek isn’t on social media but he’s much more digitally social than most social media users.

Looove it!

He Inspired Me to Write a Book

In “Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur” Derek tells his business stories. In each chapter of “How to Live: 27 Conflicting Answers and One Weird Conclusion” he tells you what’s the best way to live, but each chapter contradicts the next.

In “Any Language You Want: 18 Conflicting Lessons for a New Kind of Language Learner” I tell my true stories of how I mastered English, my second language. In each chapter I explain the best way to learn a language. But every chapter disagrees with the next.

I published my book in August 2023.

Very few people have had such a big influence on me.

If you’ve come this far, it means you love Derek Sivers too. And if that’s the case, I’d love to connect with you. Chances are that we’ll get along, so please feel free to email me and introduce yourself.

I reply to every email I receive.