Have you ever had a mentor? Some of the best mentors I’ve had in life are people I’ve never even met; people who have shared their experiences and wisdom with me by writing a book.

One mentor of mine is Derek Sivers the author of Anything You Want. This book is for entrepreneurs, but his simple, very direct advice can be helpful to all of us who want to feel excited about work and life.  This quote from Derek really made me stop and reflect on my own little distractions:

 “Don’t be on your deathbed someday, having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big dreams.

You need to know your personal philosophy of what makes you happy and what’s worth doing.”

So how can we tell what’s really worth doing?

Derek suggests that when we’re deciding to do something, if we feel anything less than “HELL YEAH!” about it, then we should simply say “no”.

Sure, I know that’s not so simple. We all have things in life we must do that aren’t exactly thrilling:

• Hell yeah! I’ll cook dinner.
• Hell yeah! I’ll pay my Visa bill.
• Hell yeah! I’m off to the dentist.

But there are lots of things we commit to doing, just because that little voice in our head tells us “I should”.

I wonder. If we busy ourselves doing all the “right” things, that in the end leave us feeling frazzled, who are we really making happy?

We can’t please everyone in life, so at the very least, please yourself. Now that’s something I can emphatically say “HELL YEAH!” to.

Is anyone with me?