MBA1843 Must Read – How to Live by Derek Sivers

Let me tell you about Intuit QuickBooks.

When I was starting out my business, I remember sitting at my desk late at night not working on my business but cleaning up numbers, tracking and reconciling payments and wondering how this became my life. But once I automated the admin side of things of my finances, those nights had disappeared and I felt a whole lot better. Outdo it with intuit QuickBooks QuickBooks is the trusted end to end solution that businesses rely on for getting paid, managing finances, paying employees, finding new customers, and more. QuickBooks provides a team of AI agents and trusted experts, so doing it yourself no longer means doing it alone. Their payment agent gets you paid faster, their customer agent finds leads, follows up and secures more sales, and the accounting agent automates and categorizes transactions. Get your critical business jobs done with QuickBooks on the Intuit platform.

Ready to save on new tech? It's time for Dell Tech Day's annual sales event celebrating our customers with fantastic deals and benefits. Product perks include Dell Rewards, free shipping, premium Support and more. PCs like the Dell 14 with Intel Core Ultra processors will help you do more faster and with a premium suite of monitors and accessories, you can upgrade your whole setup with amazing savings. Visit Dell.com deals.

Hey oh. Welcome to the 100 RMB Show. Because a better you equals a better business. That's why we deliver daily 10 minute business lessons for the real world. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started with my partner back in 2014 and today's episode is a must read episode. On our Must Read Episodes, I share with you a book that I've read that has influenced me as an entrepreneur. I share with you its takeaways, its insights and why you should read it too. Today's Must Read is How to Live by Derek Sivers. How to Live is a personal development book like no other. It's one of my top books that I've read this year and for good reason. He probably gives some of the best life advice I've ever heard in a book and he ties it all together at the end with an amazing conclusion and final chapter in today's Must Read. I'll share with you some of those insights. What are some of the things I loved most about this book, some of the golden nuggets that I learned from it and some of the things I just don't want to share with you because because it's going to ruin it for you. This is going to be a spoiler free episode. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. Lifelock. How can I help? The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

One in four tax paying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.

What do I do? My refund though. I'm freaking out. Don't worry, I can fix this.

Lifelock fixes identity theft guaranteed and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.

I'm so relieved. No problem. I'll be with you every step of the way.

One in four was a fraud paying American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com Specialoffer terms apply.

Today's must read is how to Live by Derek Sivers. I've been a fan of Derek's work, love his books. So when I heard Derek is coming out with a new book, I'm on his newsletter and if you want to learn more about Derek, I would check out sivers.org as soon as I knew that book was coming out, I had to read it. On top of that, Derek himself has said that this is probably some of the best work he has put out and I couldn't agree more. This is one of my favorite books this year, and for good reason. It has changed the way I think. It's changed my perspective on things. I had multiple aha moments reading this book. Several times I laughed out loud. Several times I paused to ponder and think and reflect. And I also questioned some of the things that was in the book. But it all kind of came together at the end. It was one of my favorite endings to any kind of book, fiction or nonfiction. And I'm not going to spoil it for you, but let me just tell you that read the whole book from top to bottom. It will be worth it. The subtitle of this book, how To Live, is 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion. And that kind of really describes the book in a really good way. If you go through the chapters of this book, he goes through how you should live in one point of view, and he goes deep with that point of view. For example, the first chapter is be independent and the whole chapter is about why you should be independent and live that life. The next chapter is about commit to commit to things. The next chapter is fill your senses and then he'll surprise you with a chapter called do nothing. So there are conflicting pieces of advice in this book, and it's for good reason. It all makes sense at the end he'll have a chapter on think super long term. And then he'll also have a chapter on living in the moment. And every time he opens a chapter with this is how you should live, for example, he said, this is how you should live. Make memories. Memories is what's important. Memories make us happy. And he really argues this point, and you're so convinced I gotta do this. But then you question that advice in a later chapter. So it's really, really interesting how he puts his book together. It's really well written. It's very easy to. It's a very quick read. And Derek is actually known for this. He writes books that are very, very well written, concise, no fluff. Really. All his books could be twice the length than they are actually if they were traditionally published. But he actually goes straight for the good stuff and saves you a whole bunch of time. This makes this read so enjoyable because every moment you're reading it, it's just pure gold. So why should you read this book? Why will it help you? And why would it ultimately help your business? This book is filled with great life advice. And when I say life advice, part of life is business. Part of life is managing your time and your priorities and your money. And much of the advice he shares with you is based on his own experience and what has fulfilled him. And a lot of times the chapter will have some advice that you may not agree with, but it challenges your thoughts, it challenges your opinions. Why do you not agree with this? Why, on its surface, are you judging this advice? For example, there's a chapter called do nothing, and this is very much against an entrepreneur's philosophy, where it's just like, you go, go, go. You try things. You're an achiever. So on the surface, you're like reading or starting to read this chapter, like, I don't know if I agree with this. And then as you read it, you're like, maybe he's got a point. Maybe there's some truth in this. And that's the point of the whole book, is to question your thoughts, to question your opinions, question your values. And sometimes that makes you uncomfortable because a lot of people uncomfortable. But that's how you grow when you're in discomfort, when you actually reevaluate your thoughts. And it'll either confirm what you believe and reinforce those beliefs, or it might reshape them in some way, broaden those ideas. For example, in that chapter, Do Nothing, he talks about desire and how desire is the opposite of peace. Most of what people say and do is Unnecessary. Most talk is just noise. In fact, the word noise in English comes from the word nausea. So the point here is he's arguing we work, we chase things because we desire, because we want, because we're ambitious. But somewhere in there, there's a restlessness. And when people think of peacefulness or peaceful people, they think of a monk, they think of somebody who's detached themselves from the world, who isn't in a state of desire. So you might be saying, omar, how am I gonna get anything done in my business, my life, if I don't do things again? This is the point of the book, to question it, to challenge it, to take the good and say, you know what? Maybe sometimes doing nothing is good. There's another very strong chapter in this book called Master something. Become a master at something. Dedicate yourself to something in the world. He says in the chapter, people don't fail by choosing the wrong path. They fail by not choosing. If you look at anybody who's successful in life, in business, in sport, in the arts, whether they're an actor or they're a painter, or you're a doctor or you're a lawyer or a dentist or a plumber or an electrician or an entrepreneur, people that are successful in any field at some point chose that field. Said, I'm going to choose this field. I'm going to go all in. I'm going to be the best I can. I'm going to give it all I got. I'm going to become a master at this as much as I can for all my waking days, for all my working days, these are the people that actually have the most success. The people that struggle are those who dabble. And I've learned this lesson from Robert Greene's book Mastery, Great book, where he talks about dabblers, hackers and masters, and how the difference between the dabbler and the hacker is not much. But the difference between dabblers and hackers and masters are huge in terms of the amount of time and effort they put into their craft. Something between two and eight hours. So a lot of life is just making a choice and just sticking to it. The thing is that this is not as common as you think. Most people dabble, most people don't master something. But as the book says, if you do what most people do, you'll get what most people get. Try not to be normal, don't be normal. Another fantastic chapter in this book is how to live is to learn to constantly be, learning to grow, to be a student. Don't ever Think you have all the answers in any field, no matter how many years of experience. Be humble. Understand there's always more to learn. There's a great line in this chapter that says the easiest person to fool is yourself. We often fool ourselves thinking that things are easy or I got this, or I have all the answers. When really this is an opportunity for you to learn, to get better, to change. It's your opportunity to broaden your mind. Also in the chapter it says only idiots never change their mind. Part of learning is sacrificing the things you used to believe and the ways you used to be. This is confronting. This is not easy. But that's how we grow. When we're uncomfortable, when it hurts a little bit, just like in the gym, you know, when you feel the burn, that's when your muscles are growing. And if your intentions are good and you're looking to change for the better, you'll always get a positive result. In the book, it also talks about one of the best ways to learn is through experiences. Try things, Be willing to fail. Why? Because a vivid, visceral feeling of danger will teach you better than words. When you fail and it hurts, you'll never forget that lesson. You'll learn a ton from it, and it'll be burnt in your memory versus reading something in a book that you might forget, or a video or a lecture. Experience is king. This doesn't mean reading books is a bad idea. It just means it's just a different form, a different level of learning. Books can prepare you for experiences and help you have perspective before and after. Another great gem from the chapter about learning or Learn to communicate clearly. You have to think clearly. A lot of us don't give ourselves enough time to think, to stop, to ponder. Whether that's, you know, early morning when you're starting your day, or even when somebody's asking you a question, like at work or in an interview, we tend to feel like we have to answer right away instead of just pausing for a second, giving it some thought, allowing you to collect your thoughts and ponder, how am I going to communicate this properly? There's so, so much more in this book I can go on and on. Great chapters on laughing at life, preparing for the worst, following the great book, whatever that book might be for you. And you'll find that chapter interesting regardless of what you believe in. And then he wraps up the book in the last chapter, which is one word, and I don't want to reveal this word because you want to read the book from the beginning. All the way to the end. And this chapter will have a profound, profound effect on you. It did for me. And this chapter alone has enough advice to last you a lifetime. If you just take home the learnings that you get from this book and then with the nuance of that last chapter, you will be one happy camper. And it will help you through the struggles of life, through the struggles of business, through the ups and downs, through the self doubt, through what should I prioritize and how should I prioritize it? It's excellent.

At Capella University, learning the right skills could make a difference. That's why our business programs teach you relevant skills you can take from the courseroom to the workplace. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more@capella.edu to wrap up today's lesson.

I can't recommend this book Enough how to Live by Derek Sivers it got my brain moving. I was reading this book actually before I go to bed on my bedside. It was actually getting my brain moving so much with ideas that I couldn't read it before bed anymore because it would take me a while to fall asleep. So I started reading it in the morning and it made me really get inspired for the day. It's such a good book. You're going to love it, or at least I hope you do, because there's a lot to learn from the different perspectives, the opposing perspectives he presents in the book on how to live. That wraps up today's lesson. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have a recommendation, if you read a book, that's fantastic, I want to hear about it. I love reading great books that can help develop me as an entrepreneur and that I can share with the world on this podcast. So email me at omar100mba.net if you want to share your favorite books with me. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Derek Sivers is somebody that I've been following for some time because I like his take on life. I like the way he's handled his approach in business, his approach as a public figure. I love his interviews on podcasts and the way he answers questions and his perspective on certain topics. Whenever you approach somebody or you hear about somebody or you heard them on a podcast like that, find out what they do, go to their website, consume what they have. Because often their best stuff is not the podcast interview or what you see on stage at a TEDx talk or even at a conference. The best stuff is actually what he or she took a long time to put together a book, a course, some sort of thing that they spent a lot of thought and attention to bring to the world and consume it. And that's what I do. I get on their newsletters and I want to consume. There's certain people that if I get an email from them, I'm opening that email in a second. I'm buying what they're offering because I know it's going to be great. I know I can learn a lot from them because I admire what they've done in their life. So seek out those people because they're a goldmine. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care. Of. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and Sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With usaa you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usaa. Com. Bundle restrictions apply.