Why People Want Conflicting Things from Work | Derek Sivers, Revisited

People often want conflicting things from work because they carry different ideas about what makes a good life. What feels meaningful to one person can feel draining to another, and those differences often go deeper than personality or preference. That is what makes Derek Sivers’s book, How to Live, so useful here. It lays out 27 competing ways to live, each one convincing in its own voice. In this revisited episode, Dart and Derek discuss how those deeper beliefs shape the way people think about work, choice, and the lives they are trying to build.

Derek Sivers is an author, entrepreneur, and former musician who founded CD Baby. He writes about business, creativity, philosophy, and how beliefs shape action and meaning.

In this episode, Dart and Derek discuss:
- How beliefs quietly shape our actions
- The 27 ways to live
- Why no one philosophy fits everyone
- How work reflects deeper life beliefs
- Why people want opposite things from work
- Introverts and extroverts at work
- Using beliefs as a listening tool
- Nature and nurture at work
- Why companies should have personality
- Useful beliefs versus true beliefs
- Data models as philosophical experiences
- And other topics…

Derek Sivers is an author, entrepreneur, and programmer best known for founding CD Baby, which became a major online seller of independent music. He later sold the company and transferred the proceeds into a charitable trust for music education. He is the author of Anything You Want, Your Music and People, Hell Yeah or No, How to Live, and Useful Not True. He is originally from California and now lives in New Zealand.

Resources Mentioned:
Derek’s Book, How to Live: https://sive.rs/h
Derek’s Book, Useful Not True: https://sive.rs/u
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, by David Eagleman: https://www.amazon.com/Sum-Forty-Tales-Afterlives-Eagleman/dp/0307389936
Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs, by Ari Wallach: https://www.amazon.com/Longpath-Becoming-Ancestors-Antidote-Short-Termism/dp/0063068737 

Connect with Derek:
Official website: https://sive.rs

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.