Bec first heard Derek Sivers on the Tim Ferriss podcast, and was immediately interested in this countercultural person who sold a multimillion dollar company and then moved to New Zealand to do something completely different. He’s deeply curious, interested in constant learning and iteration. And he did say he would answer every email — so we decided to test him. He answered right away.
Derek has been a musician, a circus performer, an entrepreneur, and a speaker. He’s a slow thinker, an explorer, a xenophile, and loves a different point of view. In New Zealand, he lives in a house that he designed himself, based off the notion that houses should grow from how people actually live, not from a master plan — so he waits to add walls until he figures out what he needs. That’s just one of his more radical ways of thinking. We were pleased and he was pleased that we asked him questions that he had never been asked before about how to live, about spirituality, parenting, and architecture. This conversation is full of surprises, and we hope you enjoy it.
Links:
Useful Not True
How to Live
For more from Derek, check out his website or follow him on Instagram and Twitter
It’s TIFF time in Toronto! For some audio proximity to the festival, why not listen to the voices of a few folks we’ve chatted with this year:
……and Elevation Picture’s Laurie May?
The start of a new school year (for kids and us!) can be a season of too much comparison and personal critique. Imposter syndrome can sneak in as we make our way in and out of the various communities we navigate. How to travel this road well? Here’s a suggestion from my friend, creator and wearer of many hats, Kristina Libby:
Upcoming events: We will be at the Forest City Film Festival in London, Ontario for our short film The Assistant (October 24th – November 2nd, 2025). We’ll keep you posted on the exact date/time of our screening. We would love to see some friends there!!!