Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Self Determination Theory tells us that motivation in the workplace requires that you fulfill three basic psychological needs. The irony of control: when no one cares what you do with your working life, you probably don’t have enough career capital to do anything interesting. But once you do have this capital, you become valuable enough that your employer will resist your efforts. Supply and demand says that if you want these traits you need rare and valuable skills to offer in return. Think of these rare and valuable skills you can offer as your career capital. From 1987 to 2010, US job satisfaction has trended downward from 61% to 45%. Amongst young people, 64% are unsatisfied with their work, which is the highest ever recorded. Giving people more control over what they do and how they do it increases their happiness, engagement, and sense of fulfillment.” Chapter Nine: The First Control Trap
Thus, you should adopt the craftsman mindset to acquire career capital, as its specific goal is to “be so good they can’t ignore you.” In contrast, following the passion mindset will be ineffective and work against creating the work you love. Unfortunately, many authors and online writers are precariously promoting a version of the passion hypothesis, known as Courage Culture: Newport ends his book on his perhaps weakest and most unoriginal argument: that finding a mission in your work can lead to ‘great satisfaction’. The Passion Hypothesis – “this hypothesis claims that the key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you’re passionate about and then find a job that matches this passion”Giving the perfect example of how Steve Jobs was never passionate about computers to begin with (he was actually profoundly passionate about Zen Buddhism), Newport explains that passion is not only rare but that it takes time and is a side effect of mastery. This chapter of So Good They Can’t Ignore You “questions the validity of the passion hypothesis.” Despite being popular, the passion hypothesis is “wrong and potentially dangerous: Once you get to the cutting edge and discover a mission in the adjacent possible, you must go after it with zeal, a big action. Chapter 14: Missions Require Little Bets
Money serves as a “neutral indicator of value, or a way of determining whether or not you have enough career capital to succeed with a pursuit.” When you work to make money or seek evidence of value, you can navigate control and provide value, whether in an entrepreneurial venture or a corporate role. Rule #4: Think Small, Act Big (Or, The Importance Of Mission) Ryan did not “follow his passion” into farming, he stumbled into his profession and found that his passion for the work increased along with his expertise. Once you get to the cutting edge, however, and discover a mission in the adjacent possible, you must go after it with zeal: a “big” action.” Chapter Fourteen: Missions Require Little BetsIn short, the first rule proposes that believing the perfect job is out there can often lead to confusion and unhappiness when the harsh reality of life hits and we realize that it’s not there. Newport’s solution? Don’t follow your passion. Rule 2) Be so good they can’t ignore you
Newport notions that there are two types of career capital acquisition. One is ‘passion’, which purely focuses on what the world has to offer you. The second is craftsman, which focuses on what you have to offer the world. If you are a knowledge worker and can figure out a way to incorporate deliberate practice into your own life, you have the possibility of blowing past your peers in your value. The passion hypothesis is not just wrong, it’s also dangerous. Telling someone to “follow their passion” is not just an act of innocent optimism, but potentially the foundation for a career riddled with confusion and angst.” Like Steve Jobs, should we resist settling into one rigid career and instead try lots of small schemes, waiting for one to take off? Passion mindset: Approach to working life in which you focus on the value your job is offering you. This approach often leads to chronic dissatisfaction and daydreaming about the better jobs you imagine existing out there waiting to be discovered.If people are willing to pay for what you’re doing and it is valuable, the resistance you are facing is an obstacle to be overcome. Rule #4: Think Small, Act Big (Or, the Importance of Mission) Chapter 12: The Meaningful Life of Pardis Sabeti Apart from the fourth and final chapter being seemingly obvious, my only other criticism is that Newport presents many relevant positive and negative stories of career success throughout his book. However, nearly every negative story appears to focus on a woman and most positive stories are about males. Although I am sure not intentional, it was a recurring thought I had throughout the entirety of the book, Plenty of people are good at what they do but haven’t reoriented their careers in a compelling direction.
Great Deal 
New Comment