Anything You Want – Derek Sivers
They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Yet the cover for this book, which shows the thrilled face of a young boy buried neck deep in the sand, is the perfect preface to Sivers’ writing style and the essence of his message:
do what you love and keep it real.
There’s nothing particularly revelatory about Sivers’ advice, but for the 21st century entrepreneur it is as essential as listening to the timeworn truths of your granddad. Anything You Want is Sivers’ manifesto on creating and keeping happy customers. He presents an honest and down-to-earth recap of the formation of his own project, CD Baby, highlighting some important lessons he learnt along the way. These include the art of saying “no”, hiring, firing, expanding, shipping squid and all things in between. He smashes the stereotype that is often assigned to entrepreneurship and reminds even the least businessy types that if you want to make something good to better this world, it is only fear and soulless distraction (money) that stand in your way. Hm, big only.
What really marks it out from other business books is, quite frankly, it’s fun to read. You can read it in an hour, perfect for that train journey you’ve booked next week. And that front cover could start some interesting conversations…
Anything You Want - Derek Sivers
