After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone, but Derek Sivers says it's better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.
Derek Sivers is best known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician since 1987, he started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients.
In 2008, Sivers sold CD Baby to focus on his new ventures to benefit musicians, including his new company, MuckWork, where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their "uncreative dirty work."
My fully realized creations in all kinds of media share one thing in common: I didn't tell anyone until I was finished.
One of the things I hate about relatives is that you can't tell them anything, without them running out the door to scream it up and down the street. Not only will they give you advice you don't need and is probably wrong, but they cannot keep secrets. Good or bad, they seem to have no control over their mouths and your life. Gossip is fun to listen too, but whether you have decided to go back to school, have a baby, or buy a house - your relatives are going to tell everyone they know the instant they know. And if you lose the baby or give up on college or don't buy a house, you are the one who pays for recklessly sharing your plans with anyone, especially your relatives, because they will share that information as well. They will go out on the street and find people they don't even know to tell them about your problems.
And that can't be good for anyone.