What is *Anything You Want* by Derek Sivers about?

*Anything You Want* chronicles Derek Sivers' journey founding CD Baby, the largest online seller of independent music, which he sold for $22 million. The book distills 40 lessons on unconventional entrepreneurship, emphasizing customer-centricity, starting small without funding, and aligning business with personal values. Key themes include prioritizing happiness (for customers and yourself), rejecting traditional business plans, and viewing profit as a byproduct of serving others.

Who should read *Anything You Want*?

Aspiring entrepreneurs, creatives, and business leaders seeking a counter-narrative to corporate-focused entrepreneurship will benefit. The book appeals to those valuing mission-driven ventures over profit maximization, offering practical insights for bootstrappers and individuals prioritizing purpose over scale. Its concise, story-driven format suits readers wanting actionable advice without 冗长 theory.

Is *Anything You Want* worth reading?

Yes, for its actionable, no-nonsense approach to entrepreneurship. Praised for its brevity (readable in an hour) and relatable anecdotes, the book challenges conventional metrics of success. Critics note its idealism may overlook systemic barriers, but its focus on customer loyalty and adaptability remains widely applicable.

What are the main business philosophies in *Anything You Want*?

Key philosophies include: - **Business as utopia**: Design ventures reflecting your ideal world. - **Profit through service**: Money follows when you prioritize customer happiness. - **Start small**: Launch quickly with minimal resources to test ideas. - **Reject rigid plans**: Adapt based on real-world feedback rather than forecasts.

How does Derek Sivers emphasize customer focus in the book?

Sivers attributes CD Baby’s success to obsessive customer service, like personally answering 90% of support emails. He advocates “thrilling” clients even at a short-term loss, arguing loyalty and word-of-mouth yield greater long-term profits. Examples include transparent pricing for musicians and rejecting investor pressure to compromise values.

What does “Business is not about money” mean in *Anything You Want*?

This mantra underscores Sivers’ belief that entrepreneurship should fulfill personal and customer dreams, not chase wealth. He views profit as a side effect of solving meaningful problems, citing his donation of CD Baby’s $22M sale to charity as proof of prioritizing purpose over financial gain.

How does *Anything You Want* challenge traditional business plans?

Sivers argues formal plans are irrelevant since customer needs only emerge post-launch. He advocates starting with a “minimum viable action”—like CD Baby’s accidental founding from selling friends’ CDs—then iterating based on feedback. This agile approach prioritizes adaptability over upfront strategizing.

What are key quotes from *Anything You Want*?

- **“When you make a company, you make your utopia.”** - **“Never forget why you’re doing what you’re doing.”** - **“The real point of doing anything is to be happy.”** These lines encapsulate the book’s themes of purpose-driven entrepreneurship and aligning work with personal joy.

Anything You Want

Derek Sivers

4.17(12 Reviews)

Overview of Anything You Want

Derek Sivers' accidental journey from musician to multimillion-dollar entrepreneur distilled into 40 bite-sized lessons. Endorsed by top business leaders, this 150-page manifesto asks: What if success means ignoring conventional wisdom and building exactly what you want - nothing more?

Choose how it's told

One book. Many ways to hear it.

Same ideas from Anything You Want. Pick the voice, depth, and pace that fits you. Switch anytime.

Chapter 1

When Passion Meets Practicality: Derek Sivers' Unconventional Business Journey

What if building a successful business wasn't about chasing money but creating your perfect world? This question lies at the heart of Derek Sivers' journey from accidental entrepreneur to selling his company for $22 million. "Anything You Want" has become a cult classic among entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to conventional business wisdom. Tim Ferriss calls it "one of the most valuable business books I've ever read," while Seth Godin considers it required reading for anyone starting a venture. What makes this slim volume so powerful is its radical honesty-Sivers rejects nearly every standard business practice while building a company that both customers and employees loved. His approach has influenced countless founders in the tech and creative industries, showing that business success and personal fulfillment don't have to be separate pursuits. In a world obsessed with unicorn startups and venture capital, Sivers offers a refreshing alternative: build something meaningful, on your own terms, that makes you genuinely happy.

Chapter 2

Creating Your Perfect World Through Business

Most people don't know why they're doing what they're doing. They imitate others, follow paths without questioning, and waste their one precious life pursuing distractions rather than dreams. When Derek Sivers accidentally started CD Baby in 1998, he took a different approach. Instead of trying to build a big business, he decided to create his perfect world-a utopian vision of what music distribution should look like. Sivers' business philosophy was refreshingly countercultural: business is about making dreams come true, not money; making a company creates your perfect world; never do anything just for money; only answer calls for help; and do only what makes you happy. This wasn't just idealistic thinking-it became the foundation for a company that would eventually sell for $22 million. The journey began when Sivers, a professional musician, wanted to sell his CD online but discovered no businesses would sell independent music without a major distributor. Distribution was an awful racket-hard to get deals, late payments, and quick rejection if you didn't sell well. When online stores rejected him, he decided to create his own online store, learning programming and navigating complex merchant account requirements. After finally getting his "BUY NOW" button working, a friend asked if Sivers could sell his CD too. He said yes as a favor, then more friends asked, then strangers. What started as a simple favor began consuming significant time, and Sivers realized he had accidentally started a business. Rather than letting this new venture distract him from his music career, Sivers approached it with an idealistic vision. He wrote down his dream distribution deal from a musician's perspective: weekly payments, sharing customer information with artists, never rejecting artists for low sales, and never allowing paid placement. These four points became CD Baby's mission statement-not a grand business plan, but simply creating how one thing would look in a perfect world. This approach reveals a profound truth: when you make a business, you create your own universe with your own laws. By making it a dream for yourself, you'll make it a dream for someone else too. The power of this perspective is that it frees you from conventional thinking and connects you deeply with the people you serve.

See every word as you hear it

Read along effortlessly as each word of Anything You Want lights up in real time.

Chapter 3

Simple Business Models Win: Two Numbers That Built Millions

When Sivers needed to figure out what to charge for CD Baby's services, he didn't conduct market research or create complex pricing tiers. Instead, he simply asked a local record store about their consignment terms. They kept a flat $4 from each sale and paid weekly. Sivers adopted this exact model, adding a $25 setup fee to compensate for the 45 minutes it took to add each album to the site. He later increased this to $35, giving room for discounts while remaining profitable. Six years and $10 million later, these same two numbers remained CD Baby's sole income: a $35 setup fee per album and a $4 cut per CD sold. This simplicity was part of what made the business so successful and easy to understand. Customers knew exactly what they were getting and what it would cost them. Sivers believes business plans should never take more than a few hours-the best plans start simple, with numbers that make sense at a glance. This approach stands in stark contrast to the complex business models and lengthy business plans that many entrepreneurs get caught up in. Five years after starting CD Baby, the media said Sivers had revolutionized the music business. But as he points out, "revolution" is just a term people use when you're successful. Before that, you're just quirky. People think revolution needs loud provocations and bloodshed, but that's like thinking true love must resemble Romeo and Juliet. When you're onto something great, it won't feel like revolution-it'll feel like uncommon sense. This was Sivers' first experience creating something people really wanted. After twelve years of struggling to promote various projects, CD Baby was like a hit song that resonated with people through some random combination of ingredients. Suddenly all locked doors opened wide, and instead of creating demand, he was managing huge demand. The lesson? Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what's not working. When you present an idea to the world and it's not a hit, don't keep pushing it-improve or invent until you get that huge "Wow!" response. Don't waste years fighting uphill battles. This applies to products, services, marketing messages, or any creative endeavor. Keep experimenting until you find what resonates.

Chapter 4

The Power of Extreme Decisions: "Hell Yeah or No"

One of Sivers' most influential ideas is his "Hell Yeah or No" philosophy. When you're overcommitted or scattered, use this rule: If you're not saying "Hell yeah!" about something, say no. When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than absolute excitement, decline. This approach might seem extreme, but it addresses a universal problem. We're all busy and overcommitted-saying yes to less is the way out. By saying no to most things, you leave room to throw yourself completely into those rare things that truly excite you. This philosophy extends beyond just time management-it's about making clear decisions in all aspects of business. For example, when CD Baby became popular, record labels called wanting to feature their newest acts. Sivers would say, "Nope. They're not allowed here. This is for independents only." This willingness to exclude people is actually a powerful business strategy. Most businesses try to be everything to everybody, then wonder why they can't get attention. You need to confidently exclude people and proudly say what you're not. By doing so, you'll win the hearts of the people you want. Sivers points to The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles as an example-a no-talking club with signs reading "NO TALKING DURING PERFORMANCES!" Performers stop shows if someone talks. It's the one place in L.A. where you can really listen to music, making it the most popular venue in town. It's a big world-you can loudly leave out 99 percent of it. When your target 1 percent hears you excluding the other 99 percent, they'll come to you because you've shown how much you value them. This approach requires courage, but it creates a stronger connection with your ideal customers. The "Hell Yeah or No" philosophy also applied to Sivers' approach to business opportunities. When an advertising salesman called wanting to run banner ads on cdbaby.com, Sivers replied, "No way. That would be like putting a Coke machine in a monastery. I'm not doing this to make money." The salesman was confused: "But you're a business. What do you mean you're not trying to make money?" Sivers explained he was just trying to help musicians. CD Baby had to charge money to sustain itself, but money wasn't the point.

Get more out of Anything You Want

Get daily insights from 100K+ lessons
Words light up in sync with the audio
Your library saved on every device

Chapter 5

Starting Small: The Advantage of Bootstrapping

Having no funding was a huge advantage for Sivers. A year after starting CD Baby, the dot-com boom happened, with investors throwing millions at anyone with vague plans. While other entrepreneurs chased venture capital and burned through cash on expensive office space and unnecessary infrastructure, most talked endlessly about funding rounds and scaling rapidly-but rarely about actually helping customers solve real problems. Sivers received multiple calls weekly from investment firms eager to pour money into his growing business. He consistently declined, explaining that he wanted his business smaller, not bigger-a stance that puzzled many during the height of the dot-com frenzy. Without money to waste, he took a pragmatic approach: learning programming from a $25 book and building everything himself. Their office embodied frugality-desks made from planks on cinder blocks, computers assembled from individual parts. While his well-funded competitors spent $100,000 on fancy systems and infrastructure, Sivers achieved the same results for $1,000 through ingenuity and hands-on work. This bootstrap mentality became CD Baby's cornerstone, keeping them laser-focused on what truly mattered: the customers. Every decision, from website features to shipping processes, was filtered through one simple question: "Is this best for our customers?" Growth came organically through delighting existing customers who then became enthusiastic advocates. This word-of-mouth marketing proved more effective than expensive advertising campaigns. Sivers particularly warns against entrepreneurs who constantly talk about their grand visions but claim they can't start without significant funding. These individuals, he observed, are often more enamored with the idea of running a large company than solving genuine problems. His advice is straightforward: if you want to be useful, start now with just 1% of your grand vision. Taking action, however small, puts you ahead of the dreamers waiting for perfect conditions. He offers practical examples of starting small in various industries. Want to create international schools? Begin by teaching one student this week. Aspiring to build a movie recommendation service? Start by offering personalized recommendations to friends. Thinking about launching an airline? Follow Richard Branson's early Virgin Atlantic model-when flights get canceled, organize small groups to share chartered planes. Each of these examples demonstrates how massive enterprises can begin with minimal resources. Starting small allows entrepreneurs to direct 100% of their energy into solving real problems for real people. CD Baby's first version was deliberately basic-just CD listings with simple buy buttons that emailed orders to Sivers. The initial investment was only $500, generating $300 in the first month and $700 in the second. This lean approach proved sustainable, with the business remaining profitable every month thereafter. This bootstrapping philosophy challenges the prevalent startup mentality that substantial funding is necessary for success. By starting small and focusing intensely on solving specific problems, entrepreneurs can build sustainable businesses without external investment. Limited resources become a creative advantage, forcing efficiency and innovation-qualities that remain valuable even as a business grows. Sivers's experience shows that constraints often lead to better solutions and stronger customer relationships than unlimited funding could provide.

Chapter 6

The Human Touch: Little Things Make All the Difference

If you find even the smallest way to make people smile, they'll remember you more for that smile than for all your fancy business-model stuff. At CD Baby, Sivers added simple touches that customers loved: code showing exactly how many hours until their FedEx shipment, answering phones within two rings, personalizing email "From:" fields to say "CD Baby loves [name]," and their "We'll do anything for a pizza" policy for special favors. The company would ask customers where they heard about artists and pass along messages, and fulfill special requests (even sending someone a rubber squid!). Over ten years, these little human touches were what people raved about most-not their business model. Perhaps the most famous example was Sivers' shipping confirmation email. After sending standard shipping confirmation emails for months, he took twenty minutes to write a silly, over-the-top message about how each CD was placed on satin pillows, inspected by 50 employees, packed by a Japanese specialist, and flown on a "private CD Baby jet." That goofy email was so loved that it generated 20,000 Google results and created thousands of new customers. Often it's these tiny details that thrill people enough to tell their friends about you, not world-changing massive-action plans. When we interact through screens, we forget real people are affected by our actions. Sivers reminds us that behind every computer is a real person whose birthday was last week, who has three best friends but nobody to spoon at night, and who is personally affected by what you say. This human touch extended to how CD Baby communicated with customers. Writing emails to CD Baby's two million customers taught Sivers clarity. One unclear message would generate 20,000 confused replies, costing $5,000 in staff time and destroying morale. He'd spend all day crafting messages, eliminating every unnecessary word and reshaping sentences to prevent misunderstanding. These experiences highlight an important truth: in business, the emotional connection often matters more than the transaction itself. People remember how you made them feel long after they've forgotten what you sold them. By focusing on these human touches, CD Baby created loyal customers who became enthusiastic evangelists for the company.

See every word as you hear it

Read along effortlessly as each word of Anything You Want lights up in real time.

Chapter 7

Delegation: The Path from Self-Employment to Business Ownership

In 2001, with eight employees, Sivers was still doing "everything else" himself, working 7am to 10pm daily. His employees interrupted him every five minutes with questions. He hit his breaking point and realized he had to make himself unnecessary. Instead of just answering questions, he gathered everyone together each time, explained both the answer and the philosophy behind it, and had someone document it in a manual. After two months of this process, the questions stopped. He taught employees his thought process about hiring, and soon new employees were found, interviewed, and trained without him. Working remotely, he called in weekly but no one needed him-the team ran the business while he focused on improvements and innovations. His company grew from $1M to $20M in four years. The key difference: self-employment feels like freedom until you realize taking time off makes your business crumble. True business ownership means you could leave for a year and return to find your business doing better than when you left. However, delegation comes with pitfalls. Sivers learned this the hard way when he over-delegated to the point of abdication. When employees asked how to organize the new office, he said, "Any way you want to do it is fine." He took the same approach with healthcare plans and profit-sharing plans, letting employees choose whatever they thought best. This backfired spectacularly when his accountant informed him that employees had set up a profit-sharing program giving all company profits back to themselves. When he canceled it, he became deeply unpopular, with employees essentially wanting him gone. Rather than trying to repair relationships with 85 employees, he retreated into solitude, focusing on programming new software features without ever seeing his employees again. Another painful lesson came when Sivers delegated the critical task of digital music delivery to retailers. He hired someone who seemed capable, trained him thoroughly, and had him sign a contract emphasizing the requirement: "EVERY ALBUM, TO EVERY COMPANY, EVERY WEEK, NO MATTER WHAT." After watching him succeed initially, Sivers focused elsewhere. Months later, complaints flooded in from musicians. They hadn't sent any music to major retailers like Napster and Amazon for months! When confronted, the employee claimed he was "too busy." Sivers immediately fired him-their company's reputation was permanently damaged. He spent the next six months living at the warehouse, working fifteen-hour days to fix the backlog and create a system that wouldn't let mistakes go unnoticed. The hard lesson: Trust, but verify. When delegating, you must do both. Delegation doesn't mean abandoning responsibility-it means creating systems that allow others to execute while maintaining appropriate oversight.

Chapter 8

Knowing When to Let Go: The Art of Moving On

Sivers never thought he'd sell CD Baby. In 2007, after completing a beautiful ground-up rewrite of the website-his proudest achievement-he looked at his plans for 2008 and realized he wasn't excited about any of them. When three companies called asking if he'd sell, he actually considered it for the first time. Writing in his diary, he discovered he was excited about letting go rather than staying on. After consulting with Seth Godin and his business coach, he realized he was emotionally done. The decision came in that one introspective day, though the paperwork took seven months. He chose the buyer who understood his clients better, not the one who bid higher. That night, he slept longer than he had in months and woke up full of ideas for his next company. When other entrepreneurs ask how they'll know when to sell, his answer is simple: "You'll know." What Sivers did next surprised many people. When he sold CD Baby, he already had enough money for his simple lifestyle. Living without a house, car, or TV, he found freedom in owning less. So he created a charitable trust for music education and transferred all CD Baby assets into it before the sale. When Disc Makers bought the company for $22 million, the money went to the trust, which pays him 5% annually while he's alive and will benefit music education after he dies. This wasn't altruism-it was what made him happiest. He got the deeper satisfaction of knowing his luck will benefit many people, the pride of doing something smart and irreversible, protection from lawsuits, freedom from burden, and most importantly, the constant reminder that he has enough. This decision reflects Sivers' core philosophy: business is as creative as fine arts-you can be as unconventional as you want. Some want thousands of employees, others want to work alone. Some want maximum profit, others minimum. No matter your choice, people will tell you you're wrong. Pay attention to what excites you and what drains you, when you're being the real you versus trying to impress others. Even if staying small slows your business growth, if it makes you happy, that's okay. Sivers noticed his stories became less happy as his company grew-he's happier with five employees than eighty-five, and happiest working alone.

Get more out of Anything You Want

Get daily insights from 100K+ lessons
Words light up in sync with the audio
Your library saved on every device

Chapter 9

Business as a Vehicle for Personal Expression

Sivers started CD Baby focused on creating a perfect world for musicians, but learned to make it a dream for himself too. This perspective-that business is a creative act of self-expression-runs counter to conventional wisdom that sees business primarily as a way to make money. He discovered that entrepreneurship could be an artistic endeavor, much like composing music or writing a novel. When you make a business, you create your own universe with your own laws. You can design it to reflect your values, preferences, and vision of how things should be. For Sivers, this meant creating a company that put musicians first, operated with radical transparency, and maintained a playful, human approach to customer service. He implemented unique policies like personalized email responses, direct phone access to support staff, and weekly payment schedules for artists - practices that were revolutionary in the late 1990s music industry. This approach doesn't mean ignoring practical considerations. CD Baby was profitable from its first month and grew to $20 million in annual revenue. But profit was a means to an end-the ability to continue serving musicians and creating a workplace that Sivers enjoyed-rather than the primary goal. The company maintained a healthy 15% profit margin while keeping fees low for artists and providing exceptional service that larger competitors couldn't match. Sivers encourages entrepreneurs to resist the pressure to conform to traditional business expectations. After CD Baby was established, he faced assumptions that as owner, he must be the traditional CEO doing business deals. But he loved programming, writing, planning and inventing-not business deals or management-so he found someone else who enjoyed that aspect. He spent his days writing code, improving systems, and directly helping customers, activities that brought him joy and added value to the business. Similarly, people assumed he wanted massive growth, but bigger isn't always better. Happiness is the real goal, right? Even if you say it's for money, money is just a means to happiness. After a certain point, money creates more headaches than happiness. When CD Baby reached $4 million in annual revenue, Sivers realized he was just as happy as when it made $1 million. Despite pressure to expand rapidly, he maintained controlled growth, focusing on sustainable practices and employee satisfaction. This perspective offers a refreshing alternative to the growth-at-all-costs mentality that dominates much business discourse. It suggests that business can be a vehicle for creating meaning, expressing values, and building a life that aligns with your deepest desires-not just a way to accumulate wealth or status. Sivers demonstrated this by creating unusual workplace policies, like allowing employees to write their own job descriptions and encouraging them to pursue their passions within the company. Whatever you create, make it your personal dream come true. This might be the most radical and liberating idea in Sivers' philosophy: that business success should be measured not by external metrics like size or profit, but by how well it serves your vision of a well-lived life. He proved this by eventually selling CD Baby not to the highest bidder, but to the organization he believed would best serve the musicians who trusted him - donating the entire proceeds to a charitable trust for music education.

★★★★★

You made it to the end of Anything You Want

Loved by 1M+ learners

“23 days in and I have used it every single day. It is part of my daily habit now.”

jayallen

Key Themes in Anything You Want

customer-centric philosophy
unconventional business models
lifestyle entrepreneurship
radical simplicity
value-driven decision making

Quotes from Anything You Want

When you make a business, you get to make a whole universe, which is really amazing because you get to decide all the laws.
Business is not about money. It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.
Never forget that absolutely everything you do is for your customers.
If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no.”
Never do anything just for money.

Characters in Anything You Want

Derek SiversAuthor and founder of CD Baby

About the Author

Derek Sivers, bestselling author of Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, is a pioneering figure in independent music and minimalist entrepreneurship. A Berklee College of Music graduate and former professional musician, Sivers founded CD Baby in 1998, revolutionizing digital distribution for independent artists and generating over $100 million in sales before selling the company in 2008 to fund music education through a charitable trust.

His writing blends candid personal anecdotes with actionable insights, reflecting themes of creative freedom, customer-centric values, and anti-establishment business philosophy honed through decades in the music industry.

A frequent TED speaker with over 5 million views across his talks, Sivers also authored Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, and the introspective How to Live. His work is celebrated for its concise, contrarian wisdom and has become required reading in entrepreneurship courses worldwide. Anything You Want remains a cult classic among founders, distilling Sivers’ unconventional journey from touring musician to accidental CEO into universally applicable principles for building purpose-driven ventures.

Download Summary of Anything You Want

Get the Anything You Want summary as a free PDF or EPUB. Print it or read offline anytime.

Users also liked

James Altucher

Seth Godin

Jeff Bezos

Simon Sinek

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy

Alchemy

Rory Sutherland

Who Not How

Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy

Delivering Happiness

Tony Hsieh

FAQs About This Book

Discover more

LEARNING PLAN

The Billionaire Mindset: From Frustration to Manifestation

This plan is designed for ambitious professionals feeling stuck in their current career trajectory. It bridges the gap between emotional intelligence and strategic execution, making it essential for anyone ready to transition from frustration to high-level success.

3 h•4 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

Zero to One for Young Founders

This plan is essential for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to build companies that create something entirely new rather than just iterating on existing ideas. It is designed for young founders seeking to master the strategic mechanics of vertical progress and long-term planning.

1 h 30 m•3 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

The Systems Thinking Advantage for Founders

In the volatile world of startups, founders often fall into the trap of reactive management. This learning plan is essential for entrepreneurs who want to move beyond chaos by mastering the structural dynamics of their business. It is ideal for early-stage leaders aiming to build scalable, stable organizations through first-principles design.

1 h 30 m•3 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

Financial Independence & 48 Laws of Power

This plan bridges the gap between wealth accumulation and the strategic influence required to protect and grow it. It is ideal for ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs who want to master both the mechanics of money and the psychology of power.

3 h 31 m•4 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

How to get rich

This plan provides a comprehensive roadmap for anyone seeking financial independence by combining psychology with practical investing and business strategies. It is ideal for aspiring entrepreneurs and individuals ready to transition from a fixed salary to scalable wealth creation.

5 h 5 m•4 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

The Architect of Influence

This plan is essential for creators and leaders who want to bridge the gap between having great ideas and building a profitable brand. It benefits anyone looking to master the psychology of persuasion, creative discipline, and digital monetization.

2 h 30 m•5 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

The Unshakable Founder Mindset

This learning plan is designed for ambitious entrepreneurs who need to balance mental fortitude with aggressive market disruption. It combines ancient philosophy with modern scaling strategies to help founders build resilient, inclusive, and high-growth companies.

1 h 30 m•3 Sections

LEARNING PLAN

The Student Solopreneur Blueprint

This blueprint is designed for ambitious students who want to launch a business without sacrificing their grades or financial stability. It provides a practical, low-risk roadmap for turning campus problems into profitable, automated ventures.

2 h•4 Sections

From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco

LOVED BY

1,000,000+ curious minds.

4.7

avg rating

1M+ learners

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

See more on how BeFreed is discussed

From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco

LOVED BY

1,000,000+ curious minds.

4.7

avg rating

1M+ learners

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

See more on how BeFreed is discussed

Start your learning journey, now

Chapter 5

Anything You Want

OverviewOverview of Anything You Want

One book. Many ways to hear it.

When Passion Meets Practicality: Derek Sivers' Unconventional Business Journey

Creating Your Perfect World Through Business

See every word as you hear it

Simple Business Models Win: Two Numbers That Built Millions

The Power of Extreme Decisions: "Hell Yeah or No"

Get more out of Anything You Want

Starting Small: The Advantage of Bootstrapping

The Human Touch: Little Things Make All the Difference

See every word as you hear it

Delegation: The Path from Self-Employment to Business Ownership

Knowing When to Let Go: The Art of Moving On

Get more out of Anything You Want

Business as a Vehicle for Personal Expression

You made it to the end of Anything You Want

Key Themes in Anything You Want

Quotes from Anything You Want

Characters in Anything You Want

About the Author

Download Summary of Anything You Want

Users also liked

FAQs About This Book

What is Anything You Want by Derek Sivers about?

Who should read Anything You Want?

Is Anything You Want worth reading?

What are the main business philosophies in Anything You Want?

Discover more

1,000,000+ curious minds.

1,000,000+ curious minds.

One book. Many ways to hear it.

When Passion Meets Practicality: Derek Sivers' Unconventional Business Journey

Creating Your Perfect World Through Business

See every word as you hear it

Simple Business Models Win: Two Numbers That Built Millions

The Power of Extreme Decisions: "Hell Yeah or No"

Get more out of Anything You Want

Starting Small: The Advantage of Bootstrapping

The Human Touch: Little Things Make All the Difference

See every word as you hear it

Delegation: The Path from Self-Employment to Business Ownership

Knowing When to Let Go: The Art of Moving On

Get more out of Anything You Want

Business as a Vehicle for Personal Expression

You made it to the end of Anything You Want

Users also liked

Discover more

Overview of Anything You Want