The Genius of Derek Sivers and Philip Toshio Sudo
June 22, 2008
Welcome, new visitor! My name is Ari, the man behind Aries9. Here I share my thoughts on music and life, so you can get to know me and my music. Thanks for visiting!
Derek Sivers is a celebrity in the indie music world.
He’s the founder of CDbaby.com.
He recently released a free e-book for self-promoting musicians. I downloaded and read it, and understood why he succeeded.
The man is a genius.
What makes him so? It’s in his ability to cut through the muck, fluff and BS to the core of things. He’s able to distill issues down to its core essence.
Just read that thing, and marvel at how concise that is.
Another book I appreciate in a similar manner, is Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo.
That should be a must-read for all musicians, not just guitar players. It is full of lessons about life. Music is a portion of our life — so if you improve how you live, you’re improving your music-making.
In both cases, what I appreciate is that their conciseness. They both say only the things that must be said, and no more.
Yet, there is no room for misunderstanding. What takes me 2000 words to say, the can say in 5 words.
That’s a skill I’m still trying to learn.
I particularly appreciate them, because I’m a quick learner of concepts. I don’t need to read all the explanations and examples. I like concepts presented as it is. If it’s a sound principle, I’ll get it. That’s all I need.
What they say are all memorable and profound. Verbosity only clutters things up. I’m too verbose, because I fear miscommunication and lack of validation too much. I feel like I need to prove myself, and explain all the little permutations and exceptions of my theories.
They’re beyond that. They can cut straight to the core, with only a few words. Their words are super-effective. They’re like well-sharpened knife, or a gun with super-accurate targeting system. Machine-gun approach can get the same thing done, but far less efficiently. They just need a handful of bullets to hit the bulls-eye.
I want to be like them.
Filed under: Reflections |
Wow! Thanks Ari. I really appreciate it.
I had to learn how to be succinct, because I found the longer my emails, the less they were read!
It’s hard. First I write my real thoughts, then I remove every unnecessary word until they’re all required.
Thanks again for the kind compliment.
- Derek
[Reply]
[...] e-book, “How to Call Attention to Your Music”, just got a wonderful compliment from Ari Koinuma. … his ability to cut through the muck, fluff and BS to the core of things. He’s able to [...]
Hey Ari, your comment caught my eye because I’ve been selling Cds through CD baby for years, and Dereks comments and articles have always inspired. I’m also a huge fan of “Zen Guitar”. I actually emailed Mr. Toshio Sudo to tell him I keep his book as reference for when i have a vexing musical or personal issue. i agree both are brilliant. keep on, Ari!
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Ari Koinuma reply on June 29, 2008 8:11 pm:
Hello Mr. Voxius,
Welcome to my blog! Glad to see that you also see the genius in these two men. Unfortunately, Mr. Sudo passed away a few years ago from a cancer. I would’ve love to have seen him remain active in the guitar community, to see how he applies and spreads his principles. But his words live on….
ari
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