7 Takeaways For Entrepreneurs From Derek Sivers's Book "Hell Yeah or No"
Success comes from subtracting what you're doing, not just adding more things.
In December 2022, I saw a book recommendation from Ali Abdaal for a short book by Derek Sivers called "Hell Yeah or No." The book is concise and actionable, making it easy to pull off the shelf and find new insights or ones you need now. In a world where social media leads us to want to do more, it's a great reminder of what the cost of always saying "yes" really is.
Anyone with lofty goals should read it, especially entrepreneurs starting out trying to grow their businesses.
Takeaway 1: Change Your Default Answer To "No"
"Saying no makes your yes more powerful." (pg. 30)
Most people try to say yes to everything and wonder where their time and energy went when they look back to see what was recently accomplished. If you're passionate about building your business, it will come at the cost of saying "No" to hanging out with friends and family, but they will know you chose them over other things when you rarely do say "Yes."
Takeaway 2: Believe You Are Below Average
"Success comes from doing, not declaring." (pg. 10)
Most people want to believe they are above average, but that can stifle your learning ability. However,
Takeaway 3: Great Goals Cause Change Now
"No matter what you tell the world or tell yourself, your actions reveal your real values. Your actions show you what you actually want." (pg. 10)
Everyone has a list of goals, but most people stop at writing it down and hope it manifests for them. Great goals create a fire in you that causes positive change now and give you the spark to work late, get up early, and push through the mundane tasks.
Takeaway 4: Don't Use Single Advice
Advice is everywhere online (including from me), but solid advice for some doesn't mean it works for everyone.
Instead, Derek recommends taking in as much advice as you can, but use it to echolocate what will work for you. If you mentally keep coming back to similar types of advice, that's your mind telling you it's valuable and deserves to be acted on.
Takeaway 5: Embrace New Ideas
"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of old ones." - John Cage (pg. 104)
Not all new ideas are worth your time, but just because ideas are old does not mean they are timeless either. Focus on which new ideas could be effective, then take the same lens and reevaluate old ones to see what needs to drop.
Takeaway 6: Share What Is Obvious To You
Mastery at all levels comes from something becoming so natural that you do it without conscious thought.
However, those who are learning from you might not know that tip, technique, or framework that is now obvious to you. This is similar to the 2-year test framework from Nicolas Cole and Dickie Bush where you think back to what you wish you knew 2 years ago.
Takeaway 7: Success Comes From Your Ability To Evolve
"The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." - Alvin Toffler (pg. 105)
Every long-term successful business has to evolve over time and continue to evolve with technology and social progress. We have to learn what is working today, read the signals that something is changing, unlearn, then relearn so we can continue to succeed tomorrow.
