Why are you in business?

My personal review of ‘Anything You Want (40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur)’ by Derek Sivers.

Another fantastic book from Seth Godin’s The Domino Project, ‘Anything You Want‘ tells how Derek Sivers (Founder of CD Baby) almost accidentally turned a hobby into a hugely successful business (deliberately slowly) over 10yrs which he then sold for $22 Million when it outgrew him and stopped being fun.

However, it’s much more than that. It’s an insight into the mindset and philosophy of a truly enlightened entrepreneur who instead of seeking to make his business as big as possible, tried to keep it as small as possible with a total focus on customer service and ‘making dreams come true for others and for himself’.

Full of great anecdotes and mottos like using ‘Hell Yeah, or No‘ to decide whether to proceed with an idea, reading this book will inspire you and help you think completely differently about your motivation and purpose in both business and life.

Here’s a flavour of Derek’s wonderfully refreshing way of thinking about business;

  • Business is not about money, it’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.
  • 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.
  • Never do anything just for the money.
  • Don’t pursue 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.
  • Starting with no money is an advantage. You don’t need money to start helping people.
  • You can’t please everyone, so proudly exclude people.
  • Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business (if you’re the founder).
  • The real point of doing anything is to be happy, so do only what makes you happy.

Whether you’re thinking of starting a new business, already up and running or just looking for more meaning to your life I highly recommend you get it here!

Also, read more about The Domino Project and Derek Sivers.

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