Hell yeah! Dedications I wrote to a friend on all 4 Derek Sivers books

I’m a big fan of Derek Sivers and his writing. I had a pleasure of interviewing him for the Productive! Magazine #30 and we’ve stayed in touch via email since then. I re-designed my blog inspired by him and just like him I maintain a “now” page. This December when I got an email from him about a sale of a bundle of all 4 of his books, I decided to take him up on his offer and bought two sets of his books - one for me and one for one of my best friends - Steve. Today I gave Steve the books and I wrote 4 separate dedications on each of them:

Anything You Want

I read this book a long time ago and I recently re-read it. It’s a story of Derek’s entrepreneurial journey (similar to mine of It’s All About Passion!) and since Steve is a fellow entrepreneur, I wrote him this:

Steve, remember that your company is your own unicorn land, it can be anything you want it to be!

I try to model Nozbe as my own unicorn-land, too.

Your Music and People

Even though I’m not a musician, this book packs lots of great, common-sense and no-BS business advice:

Steve, remember that business we do is creative! We are creators. We are artists! Let your art speak through you!

Do you consider yourself an artist?

How To Live

I must say I love the 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion on how we should live. Makes you question everything and keep asking yourself about your unique way in this life:

Steve, thanks for having with me all these coffees together. For these long sessions of chat when we’re still figuring out how to live, how to be better dads and better businessmen.

How do you want to live?

Hell Yeah Or No

I still find it hard applying this simple principle in my life. I’m still too much of a people pleaser. I need to be more diligent about really choosing what’s worth doing:

Steve, it was first you who taught me that if it’s not hell yes, it’s an obvious NO. Thanks for that!

I’m not sure if Steve was first, but I do associate it with him. And my friendship with him all these years has been an easy hell yeah!

Thanks Derek!

Derek, if you’re reading this - thank you. And if you’re not him, but haven’t read Derek’s stuff yet, go and get his books (links are provided above).

You’ll thank me later.