Todd Henry

You started a business. But why? Entrepreneurs often lose sight of what matters. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn't that enough? Derek Sivers accidentally started a business by helping musicians sell their music. It became the largest online seller of independent music with over 150,000 musicians and $100M in sales. After ten years, he sold the company for $22 million and gave all the money to charity. In “Anything You Want” he shares 40 powerful lessons, in a book you can read in about an hour. Points include: When you make a company, you make your utopia — your perfect world.Business is not about money. It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.Starting with no money is an advantage. You don’t need money to start helping people.Your business plan is moot. You don’t know what people really want until you launch.Don’t pursue business just for your own gain. Only answer the calls for help.By focusing entirely on thrilling your customers - even at an occasional loss - you ultimately profit more, because of the loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing that comes only when you place your customer’s needs over your own.The book’s most memorable stories are from his horrible mistakes, like why saving ten minutes cost him $3.3 million dollars, and how he was attacked by Steve Jobs. “Anything You Want” was first published by Seth Godin in 2011, then by Penguin/Portfolio in 2015. This third edition for 2022 was improved with eight new chapters. Its surprisingly humanist approach to business, focusing on generosity and happiness more than profits, has helped thousands of entrepreneurs to re-focus on what matters and find their own path to success.

Lead a life of adventure, meaning and purpose—and earn a good living. “Thoughtful, funny, and compulsively readable, this guide shows how ordinary people can build solid livings, with independence and purpose, on their own terms.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project Still in his early thirties, Chris Guillebeau completed a tour of every country on earth and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back. Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and focused on the 50 most intriguing case studies. In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment. Here, finally, distilled into one easy-to-use guide, are the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn what they do into a gateway to self-fulfillment. It’s all about finding the intersection between your “expertise”—even if you don’t consider it such—and what other people will pay for.  You don’t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees. All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid. Not content to talk in generalities, Chris tells you exactly how many dollars his group of unexpected entrepreneurs required to get their projects up and running; what these individuals did in the first weeks and months to generate significant cash; some of the key mistakes they made along the way, and the crucial insights that made the business stick. Among Chris’s key principles: If you’re good at one thing, you’re probably good at something else; never teach a man to fish—sell him the fish instead; and in the battle between planning and action, action wins. In ancient times, people who were dissatisfied with their lives dreamed of finding magic lamps, buried treasure, or streets paved with gold. Today, we know that it’s up to us to change our lives. And the best part is, if we change our own life, we can help others change theirs. This remarkable book will start you on your way.