Hell Yeah or No

By Derek Siver

Date Read : 12 September 2022

My recommendation: 7/10

Key Concepts

Success is a continuous process

Success comes from doing, not declaring. this is a continuous process. You have to keep earning it always.
No matter what you say, your actions reveal the truth. Your actions show you what you actually want.

Discipline is the only way to success

The disciplined ones had succeeded. The temperamental ones had famed out. The ones who’d acted like leaders were now leaders. The ones who’d blamed everyone else for their lack of results were still doing just that. It didn’t matter where they were before. What mattered was the direction they were headed.
Some people had been unpaid interns at the bottom of the ranks, but their determination and smart approaches had led them to the top. Some had been famous or successful but seemed so fragile or combustible, and yep — they’d come tumbling down.
Character isn’t fate or destiny. Character isn’t DNA, decided before birth. Character is the result of your little choices and little actions. 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.
whatever you choose, brace yourself, because people are always going to tell you that you’re wrong. You have to know your preferences well because no matter what you do, someone will tell you you’re wrong. If you’re not into money, many people will say you’re foolish. If you’re not into charity, many people will say you’re greedy. If you’re not into crowds, many people will say you’re missing out.
Before you start something, think of the ways it could end.
Your happiness depends on where you’re focusing.

Present-focused Vs Future-focused

Everyone knows about being introverted versus extroverted, but there’s another axis that makes a much bigger difference. It’s present-focused versus future-focused.

Present-focused people

Pursue pleasure, excitement, and novelty.
Focus on immediate gratification.
Especially appreciate life, nature, and the people around them.
Are playful, impulsive, and sensual.
Avoid anything boring, diffcult, or repetitive.
Get fully immersed in the moment and lose track of time.
Are more likely to use drugs and alcohol.
Are better at helping others than helping themselves.

Future-focused people

Delay gratification.
Are driven with self-discipline because they vividly see their future goals.
Tend to live in their minds, picturing other selves, scenarios, and possible futures.
Especially love their work.
Exercise, invest, and go for preventative health exams.
Are better at helping themselves, but worse at helping others.
Are more likely to be successful in their careers, but often at the expense of personal relationships, which require a present focus.
Your time-focus is environmental. People who grow up in unstable places are more present-focused because imagining the future is hard. People who grow up in cold climates are more future-focused because they have to prepare for the winter. Both mindsets are necessary. You need a present-focus to enjoy life. But too much present-focus can prevent the deeper happiness of achievement. I call this “shallow happy” versus “deep happy”.

We're the product of culture

Your country, family, town, random circumstances, and friends have shaped the way you think. If you had grown up on the other side of the world, you would have a different set of values and thought patterns.
Eventually you’ll realise that your beliefs were not correct — they were just the local culture of where you grew up. You’re a product of your environment.
Fish don’t know they’re in water. If you tried to explain it, they’d say, “Water? What’s water?” They’re so surrounded by it that it’s impossible to see. They can’t see it until they jump outside of it. This is how I feel about culture. We’re so surrounded by it that it’s impossible to see. Many things we think are true are really just our local culture. We can’t see it until we get outside of it.

Always compare down to lower one

Imagine what it’s like to be the silver medalist. If you’d been just one second faster, you could have won the gold! Damn! So close! Damn damn damn! Full of envy, you’d keep comparing yourself to the gold winner. Now imagine what it’s like to be the bronze medalist. If you’d been just one second slower, you wouldn’t have won anything! Awesome! You’d be thrilled that you’re officially an Olympic medalist and get to stand on the winner’s podium.
Instead of comparing up to the next higher situation, compare down to the next-lower one.

Procrastination hack

Procrastination hack: change “and” to “or” My unwritten condition for when to exercise was this: When it’s a nice day, and I’ve finished my work, and I haven’t just eaten, and I’m feeling energetic. But of course that rarely happens, so I wasn’t exercising enough. My coach suggested I change “and” to “or”. When it’s a nice day, or I’ve finished my work, or I haven’t just eaten, or I’m feeling energetic. Now I exercise quite often. Do you have a list of conditions you need to have met before you do something? Try changing “and” to “or.
Don't make any condition to execute any plan.

Don't just apply someone's advice to your life

Imagine you’ve got a big question like, “Should I quit my job and start my own company?” You go ask the advice of some successful people you respect. Because they can’t know everything about you and your unique situation, they’ll give advice that’s really just a reflection of their own current situation.
You're unique, your circumstances are unique. You need a unique solution for your own problem.

Think long term, don’t be short sighted

You may have heard this story: Buridan’s donkey is standing halfway between a pile of hay and a bucket of water. It keeps looking left and right, trying to decide between hay and water. Unable to decide, it eventually dies of hunger and thirst. A donkey can’t think of the future. If he could, he’d clearly realize that he could first drink the water, then go eat the hay. Don’t be a donkey.
You can do everything you want to do. You just need foresight and patience. If you’re thirty now and have six different directions you want to pursue, then you can do each one for ten years, and have done all of them by the time you’re ninety. It seems ridiculous to plan to age ninety when you’re thirty, right? But it’s probably coming, so you might as well take advantage of it.
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.
To assume you’re below average is to admit you’re still learning. You focus on what you need to improve, not your past accomplishments.

Make decision when you have the most information

As time goes on, we get smarter. We learn more about ourselves or our customers — what we or they really want. Therefore, we’re at our dumbest at the beginning, and at our smartest at the end.
when should you make decisions? When you have the most information, when you’re at your smartest: as late as possible.

Say no to almost everything

The least successful people I know run in conflicting directions, are drawn to distractions, say yes to almost everything, and are chained to emotional obstacles.
The most successful people I know have a narrow focus, protect themselves against time-wasters, say no to almost everything, and have let go of old limiting beliefs.

Don't jump to conclusion early, find the real answer, not easiest one

Being smart means thinking things through. It means trying to find the real answer, not the easiest answer. Being stupid means avoiding thinking by jumping to conclusions. Jumping to a conclusion is like quitting a game. You lose by default.
So when someone says, “They’re so stupid!” it means they’ve stopped thinking. They say it because it’s satisfying to jump to that conclusion. So if you decide someone is stupid, it means you’re not thinking, which is not being smart. Therefore, smart people don’t think others are stupid.

Be extreme, be focused

To make a change, you have to be extreme.
A bad goal is foggy, vague, and distant. A great goal is so clear, specific, and close you can almost touch it. This is crucial to keep you going.
A bad goal makes you say, “Let me sleep on it.” A great goal makes you say, “I can’t sleep! I was up until 2 a.m. doing this, then got up at 7 a.m. to do it some more.

Other quotes

There are two smart reactions to this: 1. Stop lying to yourself, and admit your real priorities. 2. Start doing what you say you want to do, and see if it’s really true.
One way to get famous is to let others make more money, while you take the spotlight. I learned this while living in Los Angeles, when I got to know some famous Hollywood actors and realized they’re not as rich as you’d think. The richest people in Hollywood are the ones you’ve never heard of, because they’ve optimized their careers for money. They know that others are willing to take less money in return for more fame, so they profit from them.
We shouldn’t preserve our first opinions as if they reflect our pure, untarnished, true nature. They’re often just the result of inexperience or a temporary phase. Old opinions shouldn’t define who we are in the future.
People say that your first reaction is the most honest, but I disagree. Your first reaction is usually outdated. Either it’s an answer you came up with long ago and now use instead of thinking, or it’s a knee-jerk emotional response to something in your past.
We’re clearly bad judges of our own creations. We should just put them out there and let the world decide.
Your main obstacle to this amazing life will be self-control. You’ll need good time management to stop addictions like social media and video-watching, and make your art your main relaxing activity.
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.
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 frst 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.
Stop the habit of thinking I know it.
Alvin Toffer said, “The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.