I finished this book in December 2022. I recommend this book 9/10.
Anything you want is a re-write of Derek Sivers's first book that tells his story about his company and lessons learned. I'm a big fan of Derek Sivers. His books share his refreshing philosophy of life. His style directly influences my website and these book notes.
Get your copy here.
My notes and thoughts:
P44. You should feel pain when unclear. At CD Baby, I had about 2 million customers. When writing an email to everyone, if I wasn't perfectly clear, I'd get 20,000 confused replies, which would take my staff all week to reply to, costing me at least $5000 plus lost morale. Writing that email to customers—carefully eliminating every unnecessary work, and reshaping every sentence to make sure it could not be misunderstood—would take me all day. One unclear sentence? Immediate $500 penalty. Ouch. So take your time and write clear content.
P55. Naive quitting. When quitting your job, find or train your replacement. It's not normal—but deciding from scratch what seems like the right thing to do instead of just doing what others do. That will stand out.
P62. When you want to learn how to do something yourself, most people won't understand. They'll assume the only reason we do anything is to get it done, and doing it yourself is not the most effective way. But that's forgetting about the joy of learning and doing. Yes, it may take longer. Yes, it may be inefficient. Yes, it may even cost you millions of dollars in lost opportunities because your business is growing slower because you're insisting on doing something yourself. But the whole point of doing anything is because it makes you happy! That's it!
P73. Trust but verify. Remember it when delegating. You have to do both.
Delegate, but don't abdicate. To abdicate means to surrender or relinquish power or responsibility. This word is usually used when a king abdicates the throne or crown.
P83. You make your perfect world. Business is as creative as the fine arts. You can be as unconventional, unique, and quirky as you want. Whatever you make, it's your creation, so make it your personal dream come true.
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