Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers

My recommendation: 9/10

You don't need a perfectly systemized plan to have a successful business. Focus on giving the best service possible to a small number of people and improve/invent as you get feedback. Don't fear to be casual and human in the process.

Notes:

Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently promoting what's not working.

When you are onto something great, it won't feel like revolution. It'll feel like uncommon sense.

We all have lots of ideas, creations, and projects. When you present one to the world and it's not a hit, don't keep pushing it as is. Instead, get back to improving and inventing.

Don't wait years fighting uphill battles against locked doors. Improve or invent until you get that huge response.

When you say no to most things, you leave room in your life to throw yourself completely into that rare thing that you say, "Hell yeah!".

Never forget that absolutely everything you do is for your customers. Make every decision - even decision about whether to expand the business, raise money, or promote someone - according to what's best for your customers.

The way to grow your business is to focus entirely on your existing customers. Just thrill them, and they'll tell everyone.

It's a big world. You can laudly leave out 99 percent of it. Have the confidence to know that when your target 1 percent hears you excluding the other 99 percent, the people in that 1 percent will come to you because you've shown how much you value them.

Context hiring:
"Anyone have a friend who is good with Linux? Yeah? Is he cool? OK, tell him to start tomorrow."

To be a true business owner, make it so that you can leave for a year, and when you're back, your business will be doing better than when you left.

Whatever you make, it's your creation, so make it your personal dream come true.

If you have any comments or questions about this book notes, you can write me at Twitter @oykun or email me at hello[at]oykun.com.

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