Derek Sivers
sive.rs · Personal blog · on HN since 2020
Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, writes short essays on business, programming, simplicity and personal philosophy.
What HN saysHN commenters cite his essays on ideas versus execution and his tech recommendations, and one likes his personal email list approach.
281HN people shared it
151linked it in comments
250stories submitted
6.4Kstory points
2 months agolast shared
2020people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1There’s no speed limit (2009)22 people · 719 points · first shared 2020 · 278 comments on HN
- 2Simplify: Move code into database functions (2015)19 people · 11 points · first shared 2020 · 2 comments on HN
- 3Tech Independence18 people · 21 points · first shared 2023 · 1 comments on HN
- 4Ideas are just a multiplier of execution (2005)15 people · 63 points · first shared 2020 · 49 comments on HN
- 5Write plain text files12 people · 807 points · first shared 2022 · 412 comments on HN
- 6Books I’ve read10 people · 113 points · first shared 2020 · 63 comments on HN
- 7I'm a Slow Thinker10 people · 10 points · first shared 2022 · 1 comments on HN
- 8Homepage10 people · first shared 2020
- 9Find a good available .com domain8 people · 686 points · first shared 2022 · 287 comments on HN
- 10Relax for the same result (2015)8 people · 206 points · first shared 2020 · 43 comments on HN
- 11No yes. Either HELL YEAH or no. (2009)7 people · 7 points · first shared 2020 · 2 comments on HN
- 12I assume I’m below average (2010)6 people · 390 points · first shared 2020 · 224 comments on HN
- 13Short URLs: Why and How6 people · 249 points · first shared 2022 · 167 comments on HN
- 14Building Without Predicting6 people · 12 points · first shared 2026 · 1 comments on HN
- 15Geography Is Four-Dimensional6 people · 9 points · first shared 2026 · 1 comments on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
Jakob · 2021-06-10
I liked this way to contact your subscribers, I received the other day. No tracking necessary and either engagement or pruning:
You signed up for my private email list at https://sive.rs/
... but since you've never replied, I can't tell if you're a real person.
Please reply to this email and say anything, ideally something about yourself like where you are in the world. Or feel free to ask any question.
(I read and reply to all. This part isn't automated. It's just me.)
If you don't reply, I'll assume you're not getting this, and delete this email (redacted) from my system.
tpowell · 2026-08-13
It takes a bit of setup and a huge download, but every time I need a good domain I follow this old post from Derek Sivers. I have Claude de-dupe it and turn it into a searchable database (on my machine), then have it search genres and terms I'm looking for. It's a task Claude is very well-suited to, from the technical implementation to back-and-forth about selections.
[link]: https://sive.rs/com
brudgers · 2026-06-17
I'm curious about where your best idea(s) came
Ideas multiply execution.
https://sive.rs/multiply
Doing is more important than thinking and sometimes doing means you not only empty the trash can, but carry it to the dumpster and jump up and down in a full dumpster so your trash will fit.
Or to put it another way, working is more important than avoiding work. Because working is the only way work gets done. Good luck.
chrisweekly · 2026-06-15
I have a Vultr account but it's very lightly used. Came recommended by Derek Sivers^1
1. https://sive.rs/ti
alexpotato · 2026-05-15
Some excellent examples of this
- Danny Meyer (founder of Shake Shack and Eleven Madison Park) has a wonderful book about customer service [0]
- Derek Sivers CD Baby customer note [1]
- Rory Sutherland talking about San Pellegrino canned soda vs Fanta [2]
0 - https://amzn.to/4nuREQ8
1 - https://sive.rs/cdbe
2 - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uHBrEk7h9uA
titanomachy · 2026-01-26
Interesting framing, and definitely cutting close to some uncomfortable psychological questions. I don’t think I care much about being a high-performer for its own sake, but it definitely sucks to disappoint people. And I have the sense that there are people out there who experience a lot more joy and engagement with work, which is certainly something I want.
It’s possible that I just have the wrong personality to be a high-performer, and I should embrace being a somewhat overpaid flâneur. Or maybe I just haven’t found the right environment.
For now, I’ll keep following Derek Sivers’s advice [0] to relentlessly steer towards the things which give me that spark of excitement and motivation.
[0] https://sive.rs/compass
kunzhi · 2025-07-17
Makes me think of this classic from Derek Sivers - There is no speed limit - https://sive.rs/kimo
ramkarthikk · 2025-03-25
This is such a wholesome post. It also shows how much agency we can have in our local community. It reminded me of the Derek Sivers story[0] about the dancing man and the first follower when I read the part about the first person (Luke) joining them.
[0] - https://sive.rs/ff
skeeter2020 · 2024-11-29
>> I’ll contact someone if I loved their book or music or work. I’ll find a way to contact the author or the creator and say, “Holy shit. That was brilliant. I loved it. This was amazing. Count me as a fan.”
>> I’ve done this about 20 times. I never got a response only once or twice, but the rest responded warmly. Many of these people have turned into friends. We actually call each other on the phone and shoot the shit. A couple of them have even turned into best friends.
more here: https://sive.rs/2020-04-email
niccl · 2024-11-11
I think Derek Sivers [0] had something to say about this. He used to run CD-Baby, and IIRC was also a musician with some well known bands from back in the day. I've found his stuff about different ways of approaching live music very thoughtful
0: https://sive.rs
breadchris · 2024-11-10
this post is great, my mental flowchart is similar to this. Content like this reminds me of this post https://sive.rs/plaintext
rglover · 2024-10-14
Just fill needs that you have. Don't like how something existing works? Fix it. Think you can offer a better version of an existing idea? Go for it.
Also: ideas are far less important than execution [1]. That's why it's best to work on problems you actually care about. If you don't, you'll end up cutting corners or burning out well in advance of success.
[1] https://sive.rs/multiply
thx · 2024-03-25
Derek Sivers — Tech Independence
https://sive.rs/ti
Also what’s kinda cool is he encourages e-mailing him / reaching out . He’s pretty great
surprisetalk · 2024-01-27
I maintain a directory of small tech blogs with extracted RSS links:
[0] https://blogs.hn
Here are some of my favorites:
• https://sive.rs
• https://sonnet.io
• https://benkuhn.net
• https://schmud.de
• https://stephango.com
• https://taylor.town (this is me!)
Protip: all YouTube channels and Substack newsletters also have RSS feeds :)
alabhyajindal · 2023-09-17
I love this article.
The section 'More Indie Tips' is great, especially if you don't plan to follow the guide: https://sive.rs/ti#indie
veryfancy · 2023-05-20
Derek Sivers does this and has a section of his site with all his notes: https://sive.rs/book
Great source of interesting reads, too. So some potential prosocial utility there, too.
philip1209 · 2023-04-27
I finally got off of Dropbox recently in favor of the iCloud with "Advanced Data Protection", i.e. end-to-end encryption.
People tend to think that "Tech Independence" [1] and "The Cloud" are at odds with each other. But, end-to-end encrypted services that sync via the cloud really are the best of both worlds - convenient and secure.
[1] https://sive.rs/ti
toomanyrichies · 2023-04-14
This is great. Reminds me of the Derek Sivers post [1], "Don't start a business until people are asking you to."
1. https://sive.rs/asking
JSeymourATL · 2023-02-21
Essentially in evaluating an opportunity, looking for something that really captures my imagination.
Think Derek Sivers: When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” — then say no.
> https://sive.rs/hellyeah
narag · 2023-01-01
That Pareto is everywhere and, when applied to knowledge, a comprehensive study plan, like courses or a book, for most subjects, tend to obscure what's the meat.
Waking call:
https://sive.rs/kimo
Corollary: a place where there's a fat-ass book of "best practices" has probably lost its focus.
beauHD · 2022-10-29
There's a great post[0] by Derek Sivers detailing how to find a good (short) .com
There are still plenty of short ones out there, and a common tactic is for people to work backwards from the domain, and call their brand/product/service the domain name instead of starting with a name and then trying to find a .com for it.
On the other hand, there are spammy/sketchy gTLDs like .cyou[1] which are mostly used by malware authors and spammers.
[0] https://sive.rs/com
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.cyou
mustafabisic1 · 2022-10-07
Btw Any take on this? https://sive.rs/h Just discovered it.
Love this quote and it seems fitting here - "Many books believe they know how you should live. But each book disagrees with the next. In “How to Live”, each chapter believes it knows how you should live. And each chapter disagrees with the next."
sacrosanct · 2022-08-14
Martin Brinkmann https://www.ghacks.net/
Seth Godin https://seths.blog/
Multiple authors https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/
Derek Sivers https://sive.rs/
runjake · 2022-06-30
You can't see mine, they're private.
But, you can check out nikitavoloboev's excellent public notes at https://github.com/nikitavoloboev/knowledge
Or maybe Andy M's at https://notes.andymatuschak.org/About_these_notes
And while you're digging, be sure to check out Derek's Sivers post: https://sive.rs/plaintext
dws · 2022-06-20
Elsewhere, https://sive.rs/book/ShortSentences, Sivers recommends "Several Short Sentences About Writing", which is a perspective on writing that I'd not seen before. A useful read if you want to practice his present advice.
logifail · 2022-05-10
> It is easier to start with a monolith, find the right design and then split on the boundaries [..]
This reminds me of the discussion on let pedestrians define the walkways[0] [1]
"As time goes on, we get smarter. We learn more about ourselves or our customers — what we or they really want. Therefore, we’re at our dumbest at the beginning, and at our smartest at the end. So when should you make decisions? When you have the most information, when you’re at your smartest: as late as possible."
[0] https://sive.rs/walkways
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/05/desire-paths-the-illici…
kristiandupont · 2022-04-06
I recommend Derek Sivers' essay "Don't be a Donkey": https://sive.rs/donkey
dho · 2022-03-09
I often find interesting books on the book lists from Bill Gates (https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books) and Derek Sivers (https://sive.rs/book).
And of course there are many good recommendations here on HN in book-related threads.
sivers · 2022-02-14
(I'm the guy he refers to in that post.)
If anyone reading this builds software like this, and releases it publicly, whether free or for sale, please let me know. I'd be happy to send people your way.
Because of https://sive.rs/dbt I get a few emails a week from strangers, asking if my software is public yet, or if not, what else I would recommend. (And I might never make my software public. It's too tied-in to my now-complex PostgreSQL system of everything.)
I'm definitely going to send people to Jakob's post here now. But if interested in this subject, please email me here:
https://sive.rs/contact
patrickk · 2022-01-03
The E-Myth (Revisited?) is a book that suffers badly from having page after page of sentimental drivel, padding it out significantly.
The core message is quite insightful and worth knowing, but the author doesn’t respect the readers time.
Edit: some book notes from Derek Sivers-
https://sive.rs/book/EMythRevisited
It’s like a modern open world video game in book form.