Hell Yeah or No - what's worth doing | Highlights
This article contains my favourite highlights from the Hell Yeah or No book from Derek Sivers.
I was tweeting these highlights while reading the book, but I wanted to persist them on my blog as well. Check the original Twitter thread at @lambrospetrou/status/1585311232940445701.
I strongly recommend reading the whole book. It’s very short, with each chapter just being a couple of paragraphs, but immensely satisfying.
4. Actions, not words, reveal our real values
No matter what you tell the world or tell yourself, your actions reveal your real values. Your actions show you what you actually want.
6. Why are you doing?
It’s crucial to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Most people don’t know. They just go with the flow.
Whatever you decide, you need to optimize for that goal, and be willing to let go of the others.
8. Imitate. We are imperfect mirrors.
Like a funhouse mirror that distorts what it reflects, your imitation will turn out much different from the original. Maybe even better.
So look around at those existing ideas in the world.
11. Character predicts your future
How you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters.
Your actions are completely under your control, and seem to be the best indicator of future success.
14. Small actions change your self-identity
Your actions show the world who you are. You won’t act differently until you think of yourself differently. So start by taking one small action that will change your self-identity.
15. If you’re not feeling “hell yeah!” then say no
Say no to almost everything. This starts to free your time and mind.
Then, when you find something you’re actually excited about, you’ll have the space in your life to give it your full attention. You’ll be able to take massive action, in a way that most people can’t, because you cleared away your clutter in advance. Saying no makes your yes more powerful.
Refuse almost everything. Do almost nothing. But the things you do, do them all the way.
This is really one the top highlights!
19. Tilting my mirror (motivation is delicate)
When you notice your motivation fading, you have to seek out the subtle cause. A simple tweak can make all the difference between achieving something or not.
24. There’s no speed limit
[…] “the standard pace is for chumps” — that the system is designed so anyone can keep up. If you’re more driven than most people, you can do way more than anyone expects.
34. Switch strategies
Early in your career, the best strategy is to say yes to everything. The more things you try, and the more people you meet, the better. Each one might lead to your lucky break.
Then when something is extra-rewarding, it’s time to switch strategies. Focus all of your energy on this one thing. Don’t be leisurely. Strike while it’s hot. Be a freak. Give it everything you’ve got.
35. Don’t be a donkey
The solution is to think long term. Do just one thing for a few years, then another for a few years, then another.
Most people overestimate what they can do in one year, and underestimate what they can do in ten years.
Think long term. Use the future. Don’t be short sighted. Don’t be a donkey.
50. Don’t start a business until people are asking you to
Most have an idea but no customers. For them I always say, “Don’t start a business until people are asking you to.”
Don’t announce anything. Don’t choose a name. Don’t make a website or an app. Don’t build a system. You need to be free to completely change or ditch your idea.
Then you get your first paying customer. Provide a one-on-one personal service. Then you get another paying customer. Prove a real demand.
Then, as late as possible, you officially start your business.
66. If you think you haven’t found your passion…
It’s dangerous to think in terms of “passion” and “purpose” because they sound like such huge overwhelming things.
[…] just notice what excites you and what scares you on a small moment-to-moment level.
If you keep thinking about doing something big, and you find that the idea both terrifies and intrigues you, it’s probably a worthy endeavor for you.
You grow by doing what excites you and what scares you.
67. Whatever scares you, go do it
Fear is just a form of excitement, and you know you should do what excites you.
Best of all, once you do something that scared you, you’re not scared of it anymore! As you go through life, doing everything that scares you, you fear less and less in the world.
Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.