Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago

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Derek Sivers is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising quotable insights and pithy succinct writing style. Formerly a musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, he sold his first company for $22 million and gave all the money to charity. Sivers’ books (How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs

TOOLS:
0:00 - Intro
02:34 - Anki flashcards: apps.ankiweb.net
06:50 - Vim text editor: vim.org
11:20 - Calibre ebook management: calibre-ebook.com
13:58 - Vibram Furoshiki shoes: geni.us/ghpX
16:01 - Kensington Expert Mouse Wireless Trackball: geni.us/f2PGBOi
17:44 - Burkey water filter: berkeyfilters.com
19:36 - Studio Bricks audio booth: studiobricks.com
23:22 - Oxford English Dictionary via your local library website
26:04 - The Great Course: thegreatcourses.com
28:11 - Hacker News: news.ycombinator.com
30:06 - Power off switch on whatever device!
34:55 - uBlock Origin ad blocker: ublockorigin.com
36:46 - Social skillz
41:00 - “A little bit of programming” — learning can be done at freecodecamp.org
44:57 - A basic, unlimited computer, like Silent PC (https://silentpc.com) and Framework laptops: https://frame.work
53:37 - Derek’s four books: https://sive.rs

For show notes and transcript visit: kk.org/cooltools/derek-sivers-author

If you're enjoying the Cool Tools podcast, check out our paperback book Four Favorite Tools: Fantastic tools by 150 notable creators, available in both Color or B&W on Amazon: geni.us/fourfavoritetools