#120: Derek Sivers – How to Live as a Creator and Why You Should Focus Like a Monomaniac
Oct 04, 2022•53 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Episode description
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EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Derek Sivers is a musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, TED speaker, and book publisher. He's written four books including How To Live, Hell Yeah Or No, Your Music And People, and Anything You Want.
He's also the founder of CD Baby – the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2007, Derek sold that business for $22 million – almost all of which Derek donated to a charitable trust for music education.
In this episode, we talk about how Derek keeps himself focused on ONE project at a time, how to navigate conflicting philosophies, what we can learn from professional musicians, and how creators can pursue balance in our lives.
Full transcript and show notes
Visit Derek Sivers website
See Derek Sivers book recommendations
Follow Derek Sivers on Twitter / YouTube
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Who is Derek Sivers?
00:27 - Derek is a Monomaniac
01:19 - Derek’s Inspiration for “How To Live”
01:58 - What We Learn Today
02:45 - Derek Has a Singular Focus
04:14 - Is Being a Monomaniac Innate or Learned?
04:57- Don’t Be a Donkey! (Buridan’s Donkey Paradox)
06:54 - Why It’s Important to Prioritize and Sequence in Your Life
07:46 - How to Use Journaling to Prioritize Your Life
09:19 - Life is NOT a Problem to be Solved
12:33 - How Do You Decide What Gets Priority?
17:10 - How to Navigate Conflicting Philosophies
20:10 - Derek’s Process of writing “How To Live”
21:30 - Your Values Change Over Time
23:13 - Breaking Away From Tribalism
24:21 - How to find Balance in Your life
27:49 - STOP Relying on Your Job to Fulfill EVERY Need
30:23 - Derek’s Life as a Musician
31:34 - Momentum is SO Important
34:39 - What Creators Can Learn From Musicians
35:57 - The History of Starbucks (And What You Can Learn From It)
38:22 - Intrinsic VS Extrinsic Motivation
43:10 - Even Rock Stars Have a Boss
44:54 - What Will Derek Do Next?
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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE
→ #82: Michael Bungay Stanier
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