Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-27 09:55:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Derek Sivers
- ISBN：0241209048
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
'A true manifesto， a guidebook with clear signposts， and a fun ride you'll return to again and again'
Tim Ferriss， author of The 4-Hour Workweek
The iconic manifesto on lessons learned while becoming an entrepreneur
You don't need a visionary master plan， loads of funding or a brilliant team to start a business。
All you really need is GENEROSITY。
When Derek Sivers started CD Baby， he wasn't planning on building a major business。 He was a successful independent musician who just wanted to sell his CDs online。 He started in 1998 by helping his friends sell their CDs too。 In 2000， he hired his first employee。 Eight years later， he sold CD Baby for $22 million。
Sivers didn't need a business plan， and neither do you。 You don't need to think big; in fact， it's better if you don't。 Anything You Want will inspire you to start with what you have， care about your customers more than yourself， and run your business like you don't need the money。
Tim Ferriss， author of The 4-Hour Workweek
The iconic manifesto on lessons learned while becoming an entrepreneur
You don't need a visionary master plan， loads of funding or a brilliant team to start a business。
All you really need is GENEROSITY。
When Derek Sivers started CD Baby， he wasn't planning on building a major business。 He was a successful independent musician who just wanted to sell his CDs online。 He started in 1998 by helping his friends sell their CDs too。 In 2000， he hired his first employee。 Eight years later， he sold CD Baby for $22 million。
Sivers didn't need a business plan， and neither do you。 You don't need to think big; in fact， it's better if you don't。 Anything You Want will inspire you to start with what you have， care about your customers more than yourself， and run your business like you don't need the money。
Reviews
Vinka Maharani
，
It's a short pocket book that you could visit when the world seems against you。 If you feel like the misfits， I think this book suits you。 How Derek describes and encourage the readers to be the best version for themselves， not for the invisible juries。 Worth your 1-2 hours or a travel companion while you're in a journey。 It's a short pocket book that you could visit when the world seems against you。 If you feel like the misfits， I think this book suits you。 How Derek describes and encourage the readers to be the best version for themselves， not for the invisible juries。 Worth your 1-2 hours or a travel companion while you're in a journey。 。。。more
Reuben
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Excellent book on building a business but also building a life you love。
Farhan Safi
，
I generally don't write reviewsI generally don't write reviews but this one deserves to be put out there。 One of the best books I have ever read。 I generally don't write reviewsI generally don't write reviews but this one deserves to be put out there。 One of the best books I have ever read。 。。。more
DoeJoe
，
Despite having known most of the stories in the book from Sivers' various appearances in talks and podcasts， I still appreciate this nice， compact version of them and am sure that I will come back to them in the future when in need of some unconventtional inspiration。 Despite having known most of the stories in the book from Sivers' various appearances in talks and podcasts， I still appreciate this nice， compact version of them and am sure that I will come back to them in the future when in need of some unconventtional inspiration。 。。。more
Minh
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Quick & enjoyable read。 quick summary is to do anything， be generous help people first ！ don't be too formal。 Quick & enjoyable read。 quick summary is to do anything， be generous help people first ！ don't be too formal。 。。。more
TRB
，
Listened to the audiobook book version of this！ It was very short and philosophically cheerful
Coby Pennington
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4。5 StarsI appreciate there is very little fluff here compared to some books in the genre。 Each lesson is presented and reinforced with an anecdote on how he arrived that conclusion based on his experience with his company。 This makes it a quick and efficient read。 Several of the lessons are valuable and his perspectives on business are refreshing; do the work you enjoy while putting the customer first。
Luciano Holanda
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Reading this book was a very pleasant hour of my life。 It's admirable how simplicity and authenticity permeated every decision in how Derek built and sold CD Baby。 I didn't know the history of the company or Derek， I loved getting to know it and learning his lessons。The quote on the top of this review was my favorite one from the book–also my favorite lesson–It's about being， not having。The book provides actionable advice on how to bring simplicity and customer obsession into what you do。 Reading this book was a very pleasant hour of my life。 It's admirable how simplicity and authenticity permeated every decision in how Derek built and sold CD Baby。 I didn't know the history of the company or Derek， I loved getting to know it and learning his lessons。The quote on the top of this review was my favorite one from the book–also my favorite lesson–It's about being， not having。The book provides actionable advice on how to bring simplicity and customer obsession into what you do。 。。。more
Shi Han
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short but packed with brilliant points！
Max Rohde
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Anything You Want is a short book that contains the lessons learnt by Derek Sivers while developing the business CD baby。 It is meant for those interested in starting their own business。 In the following I have collected some of the advice found in the book: On Starting a BusinessThe story of CD Baby begins like many stories of entrepreneurship: accidentally。 Sivers looks for a way to sell CDs of his own music over the Internet， and finding none， decides to develop his own website for the purpose。 Anything You Want is a short book that contains the lessons learnt by Derek Sivers while developing the business CD baby。 It is meant for those interested in starting their own business。 In the following I have collected some of the advice found in the book: On Starting a BusinessThe story of CD Baby begins like many stories of entrepreneurship: accidentally。 Sivers looks for a way to sell CDs of his own music over the Internet， and finding none， decides to develop his own website for the purpose。 Eventually other musicians ask to have their music included as well， and from there CD Baby grew to a place thousands of musicians use to sell their music。 I think it is interesting here to consider that very few entrepreneurs start off with a grand vision of how their business should look and then develop it from there。 Richard Branson would be another example of this （for anyone interested in another book about music related entrepreneurship， see Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson）。 Steve Jobs likewise。 I think the closest person with a grand plan I have come across would be Rockefeller， who systematically built a business around the emerging importance of oil and the profitability in squelching competition （see the excellent Titan by Ron Chernow）。 I think what this teaches most of all， that to become a very successful entrepreneur， one must not only have a basic business acumen， desire to take on risk， but also be at the right place at the right time。 On CustomersAnother common theme found in Anything You Want and other discussions of entrepreneurship is a very strong commitment to serving customers。 Sivers describes many instances where the needs of both musicians and of people buying CDs would take priority， like having a rule that the phone should be picked up within two rings between 7 am and 11 pm。 One of the 40 rules in the book is 'Care about your customers more than about yourself'。 On IdeasA good argument is made that ideas are many but execution is what counts。 A brilliant idea with no execution is worth nothing， an average idea with perfect execution is worth billions。 We should not become too attached to ideas but rather see them as one of our resources to work with。 Here three quotes related to this from the book: You can't pretend there's only one way to do it。 Your first idea is just one of many options。 If it's not a hit， switch No "yes。" Either "Hell yeah！" or "no。" On Running a BusinessAnother sound advice in my opinion is that if something goes wrong， one does not need to try all the time to come up with a 'grand policy' to prevent it from ever happening again。 Sometimes some things going wrong are worth the price to pay to avoid having another policy。 On Entrepreneurship Sivers did not study accounting or got an MBA， he started off as an artist。 And I think his perspective of starting a business is quite valuable and there is a lot of evidence that this perspective was ingrained into CD Baby。 Here two quotes in this spirit about Entrepreneurship: 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。 Another very interesting point made later in the book is about when to stop being engaged with your business。 Sivers recommends that when our heart is not in it anymore， and we don't get joy from what we are doing， we can start looking for something else。 Some ConcernsI think that the founding of CD Baby was a great accomplishment， and that it really demonstrates how starting a business can make a positive difference to the world。 Sivers， apart from being at the right place at the right time， brought many unique skills that helped make CD Baby a success; a strong customer focus， the ability to fashion a business around core values， ability to learn coding and develop the website。 Notwithstanding that， I think that some of the advice in the book should be considered with some caution。 I believe Sivers is the last not to admit that he has made plenty of mistakes， however for some of the advice in the book， rather than constituting a mistake， it is more something that I disagree with， and here are some of these things: - Sivers suggests not to worry about hiring， and just to ask for referrals from your staff。 I think this not a good way to go about things。 I think it is important to put some effort into understanding the requirements for a role， and then trying to design a fair， unbiased recruitment process around these requirements。 It will never be perfect， but we can try our best。 - He mentions an episode where the staff （using his authority） adopted a profit sharing arrangement that would result in all profits of the company being shared with employees。 Sivers once he finds out， disagrees with that， which makes him very unpopular with the staff。 He considers two options; either firing all 85 of his employees or never to speak to them again。 I think neither of these options seem like the right thing to do。 Sivers suggests that this can be fixed by just 'delegating' but not 'abdicating' - however， I think a better strategy here may be to keep clear lines of communication open with the staff， and most of all， to care about them and their wellbeing。 - Sivers also advises that a business does not need formalities and regulations we usually associate with a corporate。 I think here too， as many policies and rules corporates have that are superfluous， there are also many that result in better outcomes for workers， customers and society。 - There is also the abovementioned advise that one should care more about ones customers than oneself。 I do think that this can be conducive to success。 But， at the end of the day， I think one can make a positive difference to the world， oneself and those around us， without finding some balance and time for self care。 Maybe this may result in even better outcomes eventually。 This is a very short book and I would recommend anyone interested in starting their own business to read it。 Even though I do not agree with every advise in the book， I think it is still contains many interesting and thought provoking ideas。 Most importantly， I think it shows that entrepreneurship often comes with great sacrifice。 There is of course a chance for great riches as well， but we also need to keep in mind that for every CD Baby， there are nine ventures like it that fail。 。。。more
Naïma
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So much covered in such a short book。 Another case of right time， right book。 Sivers reminds us that it’s easy to get distracted by the glossy sides of being an entrepreneur （investment， MBAs， networking） when really it should be whatever you want it to be。 The journey is the reward rather than the destination。 Recommend！
Teck Wu
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Inspirational
Jie Yi Lee
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Interesting perspective and a nice， short read。 Made me reconsider what it means to be an entrepreneur。 🤔
Chandrasen Rajashekar
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Got to know about this book while reading “First Principles” article in fs。blog/2018/first-principles Got to know about this book while reading “First Principles” article in fs。blog/2018/first-principles 。。。more
Brian Hart
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Read before。 Will read often。 A short fun book packed with wisdom。 4 stars for book 1 more because it’s Derek
Adriza
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Wonderful and affirming ❤️To the point and short， full of the right lessons。
Abdulrahman AlAwadhi
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Read it while on a long flight and is definitely a page turner。 The unconventional wisdom that Mr Silvers offers is intriguing。 I didn't think and look at things the way he has done it。 With no degrees or any special kind of training， only self directed learning tools， Mr Sivers achieved a great feat in business。 Things do not need to be complicated for success。 The more things get complicated， the more stress you face and hence the more likely you're going to be dragged down。 The techniques he Read it while on a long flight and is definitely a page turner。 The unconventional wisdom that Mr Silvers offers is intriguing。 I didn't think and look at things the way he has done it。 With no degrees or any special kind of training， only self directed learning tools， Mr Sivers achieved a great feat in business。 Things do not need to be complicated for success。 The more things get complicated， the more stress you face and hence the more likely you're going to be dragged down。 The techniques he addressed might not be suitable for larger corporations but for someone starting a business they're a great guide。 A highly recommended read！！！ Lessons learned from the book are not necessarily addressed towards entrepreneurs， but can definitely find some place in individuals to make a change for the greater good。 One point addressed in the book made me change the way I look at things and probably think of things from a larger perspective。 It is the vision。 Start with the finish line in mind。 When I personally reflect， I can see that I have the tendency to be distracted by other secondary flankers which totally skew me away from the primary goal I have set initially。 Sivers addresses this issue in a really beautiful way and it has got me thinking to change and modify and focus for the sake of a larger goal in mind。 。。。more
Nikhil Verma
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A bizarre kind of entrepreneur in today's worldThis book tells the entire journey of an entrepreneur， from building a business to selling it， it covers it all and presents a fresh new perspective。 A tale of truly living by 'the customer is always right！'The author understood what really made him happy so this is actually packed with ideas to live by。 A bizarre kind of entrepreneur in today's worldThis book tells the entire journey of an entrepreneur， from building a business to selling it， it covers it all and presents a fresh new perspective。 A tale of truly living by 'the customer is always right！'The author understood what really made him happy so this is actually packed with ideas to live by。 。。。more
Arnaldo Neto
，
Sim。 Esse é um livro de empreendedorismo。 Mas esqueça os planos de negócio e pitchs de vendas。 Por aqui， Derek Sivers vai te falar sobre a parte humana de empreender: Transformar o mundo e as pessoas que estão nele。 Tudo isso em artigos curtos e poucas páginas。 Uma delícia de ler e um excelente custo benefício。
Jay Mudie
，
A quick pleasurable read of 40 lessons in anecdotes， insights and takeaways from Derek's experiences with starting and running CD Baby。 A quick pleasurable read of 40 lessons in anecdotes， insights and takeaways from Derek's experiences with starting and running CD Baby。 。。。more
Ian Ferguson
，
First of all， Anything You Want is an excellent book because of its length。 Derek Sivers is able to state all forty of his lessons and include informative anecdotes from his experience in one to two pages per lesson。 All business， self-improvement， and social science writers should learn from Sivers that unnecessary embellishment detracts from their credibility and obscures their theses。 Sivers’s main message is to make yourself （the business owner） and the customer happy， then allow profits to First of all， Anything You Want is an excellent book because of its length。 Derek Sivers is able to state all forty of his lessons and include informative anecdotes from his experience in one to two pages per lesson。 All business， self-improvement， and social science writers should learn from Sivers that unnecessary embellishment detracts from their credibility and obscures their theses。 Sivers’s main message is to make yourself （the business owner） and the customer happy， then allow profits to arise as a byproduct of this relationship。 While this message is not profound， Sivers’s success with his CD Baby business and the happiness that it has brought him seem to confirm its accuracy。 Though some of the lessons contradict one another （“It’s about being， not having” and “delegate or die” for example） and some of lessons may not be effective for other types of businesses， Anything You Want is a valuable read and an even more valuable use of the time required to read。 。。。more
Deborah Morais
，
This was funny with some great insights as well。
Sahil Bhatt
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Nice， short book you can read in few hours。 Very straightforward and to the point talk about the subject matter。
Judith
，
Advice on starting and growing a company from an unconventional point of view。 Very short chapters， just like Seth Godin's books have。 Reminded me of Tom Hodgkinson's Business for Bohemians: Live Well， Make Money。 Advice on starting and growing a company from an unconventional point of view。 Very short chapters， just like Seth Godin's books have。 Reminded me of Tom Hodgkinson's Business for Bohemians: Live Well， Make Money。 。。。more
Gregp
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5 out of 10
Jake
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Short and sweet， had some nice principles for business and running your own company。
Khalid
，
Personal story of starting CDbaby。com from the very beginning till selling。 Has some good lessons from the Author's point of view。 Personal story of starting CDbaby。com from the very beginning till selling。 Has some good lessons from the Author's point of view。 。。。more
Micha Goebig
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Interesting little book。 Very unconventional business wisdom。
Lou
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Thank you Derek， this is the only business book I really needed。 It made me realise it's ok if your goals are different。 Thank you Derek， this is the only business book I really needed。 It made me realise it's ok if your goals are different。 。。。more
Sagar
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