0053 - Derek

Interviewer's Note: I came across his website via Visa's blog. It is truly heartening for me to discover great people, like him, around and already creating useful things for the world. I thank him for his permission to produce this post for my blog. And... you gotta visit his website, there are tons of great stuff to be discovered there! 

Derek Sivers / 43 / Singapore (born in USA) / Entrepreneur, programmer, avid student of life / sivers.org / @sivers

What do you live for?
Here's me in 10 seconds:

• I live by "whatever scares you, go do it".
• I'm an entrepreneur. I treat work as play.
• I'm a minimalist. The less I own, the happier I am.
• I'm a learning addict.
• I'm very comfortable being the leader and being on stage.

Why?

• Every time you're making a choice, one choice is the safe/comfortable choice - and one choice is the risky/uncomfortable choice. The risky/uncomfortable choice is the one that will teach you the most and make you grow the most, so that's the one you should choose.
• Back then, I realized why I need to start a new company. Not for the money. Not because I'm “bored”. But because a company is a laboratory to try your ideas. (The word “laboratory” is defined as a room for research, experimentation or analysis. I think of it as a sandbox or playpen.) This made me happier than doing nothing. This isn't work, it's play. It's my place to try my ideas. We all need a playground, and your own company is one of the best playgrounds of all.
• Every item I encounter is now judged harshly as a major burden that better have a damn good explanation why I should carry it around with me everywhere as I travel. Wouldn't it be more fun to never have to OWN anything, but to just have it when you need it?
• To resist the temptation to do everything myself is a HUGE challenge to me. I've always known that doing things this way would be infinitely more powerful than casually doing everything myself. I just didn't want the reponsibility. Now I do.