1663: Does It Help to be Desperate AND Should You Learn Programming? Yes by Derek Sivers

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[00:00:30] This is Optimal Work Daily. Does it Help to be Desperate? By Derek Sivers of Sivers, S-I-V-E dot R-S. I had always felt it was best to never be desperate. Confidence comes from knowing you have many options. But reading the autobiography of Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, it was clear his entire career was driven by a self-created desperation.

[00:00:54] He would always sweet-talk the bank into giving him a large loan to take on an ambitious new venture. Then he'd stay deep in debt past the final hour, always to the brink of getting repossessed, and use that do-or-die desperation to take an even more ambitious gamble, somehow coming out ahead. Just enough to pay off the loan, then do it again with something even more ambitious. Here are some examples.

[00:01:18] 1. When he was only 21, running Virgin Records and Tapes, his little record shop in Notting Hill, he thought what rock stars needed was a big, comfortable house in the country where a band could come in and stay for weeks at a time and record whenever they felt like it.

[00:01:35] 2. Virgin had a hit record, and though its success was enough to pay off past debts, he didn't have much profit left for himself.

[00:02:00] 3. When he was 28, he took a vacation and fell in love with this island, which is linked in the post, that was for sale for 5 million pounds. Through negotiation and luck, he was able to buy it for 180,000, but the government required that he turn it into a resort within 5 years at a cost of about 10 million, or the ownership would revert back to the government. He said, quote, I was determined to make the money to be able to afford it, end quote.

[00:02:27] And for the next few years, he was always pushing down to the wire to come up with the money to do so. 3. During that time, Virgin Records hadn't had a hit record in years and was broke. His business partner said they had no option but to cut costs and drop artists. Richard says, quote, I have always believed that the only way to cope with a cash crisis is not to contract, but try to expand out of it, end quote.

[00:02:52] 4. So, he decided to go deeper into debt, borrowed $1 million, signed Phil Collins, Human League, and bought two nightclubs. All were successful and made Virgin profitable again. And 4. Only two years later, he started an airline against everyone's warnings, which was so deeply in debt for so many years that it almost destroyed his other companies. 5. He ended up having to sell Virgin Records to keep the airline from going under.

[00:03:17] But again, this sense of danger, desperation, and deep debt fueled his next 10 years of ambitious expansion. So, here I am reading this, impressed but confused. I'm frugal. I avoid debt. I save most of my income and never spend more than I earn. Because of this, I'm comfortable. Is this the wrong approach? Could it actually help to be desperate? Could that drive us to new heights out of necessity?

[00:03:42] On the other hand, haven't we all seen smart people do dumb things when desperate, like signing bad deals or stealing? So, what's the difference? Should you learn programming? Yes. By Derek Sivers of Sivers. That's S-I-V-E dot R-S. When I was 14 years old, my guitar teacher told me something important. He said,

[00:04:08] You need to learn to sing, because if you don't, you're always going to be at the mercy of some a**hole singer. His point was about self-reliance. If you ever have any ideas, whether for songs or apps, you need to have some basic skills to turn those ideas into reality. One of the most common things I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is, I have this idea for an app or site, but I'm not technical, so I need to find someone who can make it for me.

[00:04:32] I point them to my advice about how to hire a programmer, but most programmers are already busy and expensive. Imagine if someone said, I have this idea for a song, but I'm not musical, so I need to find someone who will write, perform, and record it for me. You'd probably advise them to just learn enough guitar or piano so they can play their song. It's like learning to drive or make dinner. You only need to learn enough so you're not helpless. So, yes, you should learn some programming.

[00:05:01] Basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are enough to start. I recommend Headfirst HTML and CSS first, then Headfirst HTML5 programming. Those are very fun, visual books where you need to see the detailed illustrations, so get the paper book or PDF. If you prefer a course and community, use FreeCodeCamp. Ideally, do those books and this course at the same time to really reinforce what you're learning. You could go through those books or courses in a few weeks,

[00:05:30] and you'd already know as much as half of the people that call themselves web developers. It's a really amazing feeling. The mystery is lifted. You'll look at all websites in a new way. You'll understand what's going on behind the scenes. You'll know how to do it yourself. It's really empowering. It's definitely been the most rewarding thing I've ever learned. You just listened to the posts titled, Does It Help to Be Desperate? and Should You Learn Programming? Yes.

[00:05:59] Both by Derek Sivers of Sivers. That's S-I-V-E dot R-S. And thank you to Derek for letting us share his work today. He is a musician and programmer who created the popular website CD Baby, where independent musicians can sell their CDs online and even have their music submitted online to Apple Music, Spotify, and more. Around 10 years ago, owning the entire company, he sold it to Disc Makers for $22 million, putting most of it away into an organization he created

[00:06:29] called the Independent Musicians Charitable Trust, which will fund music education after he passes away. He's a super unique guy, a TEDx speaker, and popular writer with some great books like Anything You Want. Definitely worth checking those out. So come by his site, which is just his last name with a dot in it. That's Sivers, spelled S-I-V-E dot R-S. But that's going to do it for today. I hope you have a great rest of your day and that you'll be back with me here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.