Hell Yeah or No - Derek Sivers
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A bunch of vignettes on how to figure out what is worth doing and make yourself the person you'd like to be. Here are my main takeaways, some of which map pretty closely to the themes he uses to organize the book.
Make space. As you may be able to guess from the title, this largely revolves around making "no" your default answer to new opportunities. It's obviously more subtle than that though. By making "no" your default answer, you leave plenty of space for your "hell yeah"'s. And by having that space, you can fully pursue them, which is required for maximum fulfillment. The subtlety is that sometimes you need to say "yes" to more things if you're looking for new opportunities. But when you find the thing you'd like to pursue, start saying "no" to everything else.
Do. It's easy to say what you want to do, but your actions ultimately show what you value. So if you've been saying you want to do something for a long time, either think hard about if you actually want it or start doing it and find out if you actually want it. It's fine if you don't. Now you can stop wasting your time thinking about it.
You have more control than you think. Usually it's a matter of finding a new perspective on your situation. If you can find the right perspective, you can fully own a situation and adapt it towards what you're trying to achieve. Ownership gives you agency, and that feels great.
Surprise yourself. You grow by doing what excites you and scares you. If something does both, it's probably a good idea to pursue it. The most fulfilling things in life are at the edge of your comfort zone. If you keep expanding it, there will always be something fulfilling to pursue.