In a series of short chapters, HELL YEAH OR NO what’s worth doing takes us through author Derek Sivers self-exploration about how to fix faulty thinking and make things happen.
After the sale of his company placed him on a dramatically new path, Sivers journaled for 10 years and put those thoughts into this book. Sharing anecdotes, thoughts, lessons, advice, ideas, and a few solutions, the book is a quick read that offers some useful wisdom and delivers a ton of great one-liners to live by. His musings offer some simple personal and professional growth perspectives to elevate your performance and refine your practices.
Success comes from doing, not declaring. Letting a premature sense of self-satisfaction can keep you from doing the hard work necessary to accomplish the results you want. An individual’s actions are the best indicator of their future success or lack thereof.
Focus on your real goals and let go of the rest. Trying to do a little bit of everything creates internal conflict. Realize what you really want and pursue it. Expect others to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Knowing what you want in advance provides a compass to optimize your life around to reach your goals.
Come across an idea you wish you had thought of? Copy it. Your imitation will turn out different than the original, reflecting your unique personality and intentions. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look around at existing practices and approaches in your field. Even though it’s copied, your version of the idea offers something new, valuable, and unique.
If you’re not feeling “hell yeah!” then say no. Saying no often makes your occasional yes more powerful. Saying yes when you’re already over-committed or need to focus will overwhelm you. Refuse almost everything, do almost nothing. We all have busy schedules, free up time to make room for focus and change. When you do decide something is worth doing, do it all the way.
Think like a bronze medalist. Comparing yourself to the person ahead of you is likely to breed envy and resentment. Comparing down to the next lower person or accomplishment will foster happiness by reminding you to be more grateful for what you’ve got. Remember how much worse it could have been and how nice it is to have anything at all. Watch Jerry Seinfeld’s “silver medal” routine for a deeper understanding of this concept.
Beware of advice. The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions. Advice is given from the perspective of the person offering it. Their experience and environment will heavily influence the advice they give and cannot take into consideration the depth of your unique circumstances. If everyone around them is quitting their jobs, their advice will be for you to keep your job. Ultimately, only you know what to do, based on the feedback you’ve received and your personal nuances that no one else can know.
Assume everything is your fault. If someone has upset you, the natural response is to feel that it is their fault. Forgiving them is still operating on the assumption that they are to blame, and you are the victim. Approaching situations from the perspective that it is your own fault is empowering. This adjustment to your thoughts, by assuming that you made something happen or you made a mistake, you gain control over the situation. Now you can turn it into a learning experience. “Think of every bad thing that ever happened to you and imagine that you happened to it”.
Learning without doing is a waste. If you don’t turn what you learn into action, the learning was pointless. Always apply the things you learn to your life in your own way.
Be happy, smart, and useful. Consider all three when making life-size decisions. What makes you happy, what’s smart (good for you in the long-term), and what’s useful to others. Always consider all three when making decisions, neglecting one can lead to a poor outcome.
Achieve balance. The happiest people have good-paying jobs and pursue something they love. We all have a need for stability and adventure, certainty and uncertainty, money and expression. Do something for love and something else for money. One thing cannot satisfy your entire life and create the balance necessary to achieve happiness. Each half of your life becomes a remedy for the other. Self-control is most people’s biggest obstacle to an amazing life. Managing your time effectively and quitting addictions like social media or surfing the internet frees up time and space. Managing your mind is equally important, do not spend time thinking about your job after you leave the office. Don’t let your job become your whole life or expect it to fulfill all your emotional needs. Don’t taint something you love with the need to make money from it by making your passion your sole source of income. Let each be what it is and put in the effort to balance the two.
Goals shape the present, not the future. The future only exists in your imagination. The purpose of a goal is not to improve your imaginary future. Judge a goal by how much it changes your actions in the present moment. If it doesn’t change your actions, right now, it’s not a great goal. Find another variation that excites you.
Inspiration is not receiving information. Inspiration is applying what you’ve received. Looking everywhere for inspiration is quite the opposite of inspiring. Pause the input and create the output. Coming across a new idea, applying it to your life’s work, and creating output based on this new perspective is where real inspiration lies. To feel the inspiration you’ve been looking for, you must breathe out after breathing in. Nothing can be truly inspiring until you’ve applied it to your work. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Sivers leaves us with his motto for life “whatever scares you, go do it”. Fear is just a form of excitement, and you should do what excites you. The lesson readers are ultimately left with is to spend your energy wisely. Saying no to almost everything leaves time and space in your life to focus on the few things that matter most. If you don’t feel “hell yeah!” about something, say no.