Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Passion hypothesis: The key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you’re passionate about and then find a job that matches that passion.
Missions work because they help focus your energy toward a useful goal that increases your impact on the world, which helps you feel more connected to the work that you do.In short, it’s rare that you will be passionate about something from day 1 and forever be interested in that something. Rather, passion is often born out of spending a lot of time in a field and getting good at the skills required to feel autonomous, competent, and connected with the work you’re doing. The dangers of the passion hypothesis
The First Control Trap – “the principle that control that is acquired without career capital is not sustainable” When deciding whether to follow an appealing pursuit that will introduce more control into your work life, seek evidence of whether people are willing to pay for it. If you find this evidence, continue. If not, move on.” Rule #4: Think Small, Act Big (Or, the Importance of Mission) Mission matters This chapter of So Good They Can’t Ignore You argues that great missions can be successful from small exploratory projects. After identifying a mission, use the following strategy from venture capitalist Peter Sim’s book, Little Bets to succeed in your mission: Career Capital – the rare and valuable skills within the working world, which is “the key currency for creating work you love”To determine if whether you are in a position that will help apply the Craftsman Mindset and build your Career Capital, Cal Newport lists the following three disqualifiers for your job: To have a mission is to have a unifying focus for your career. It is more general than a specific job and can span multiple positions. However, “if you just show up and work hard, you’ll soon hit a performance plateau beyond which you fail to get any better.” To break the plateau and successfully adopt the craftsman mindset, you should approach your work with a dedication to deliberate practice: 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.” 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:
In comparing serious study versus tournament play, grandmasters spent 5x more time in serious study than other players who had studied for 10,000 hours. Cal Newport concludes by showing how he applies the four rules to his own professional life. He loves what he does for a living, and state states that staying committed to these ideas will only deepen that love further. And to accomplish your career goals, let his rules guide you: Passion Is a Side Effect of Mastery: The Self-Determination Theory shows us why which pursuits motivate people in their work:
If you want the latest book notes in your inbox...
Look for Open Gates, which are the few “opportunities to build capital that are already open to you,” which get more career capital at a faster rate. Newport’s book answers one simple question: Why do some people end up loving what they do, while so many others fail at this goal? Newport offers a realistic path toward a meaningful and engaging working life. Rule #1: Don’t Follow Your Passion The passion hypothesis is bad advice The deep questions driving the passion mindset: “Who am I?” and “What do I truly love?” are essentially impossible to confirm. This first rule introduced by Newport grabbed my attention immediately. A refreshing and interesting view, Newport confidently slates and dismisses the passion hypothesis, a ‘FAD’ and safe belief that argues that ‘ the key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you’re passionate about and then find a job to match this passion’.
Don’t obsess over discovering your true calling. Instead, master rare and valuable skills. Then, once you build up the career capital that these skills generate, invest it wisely. Use it to acquire control over what you do and how you do it, and to identify and act on a life-changing mission.” Next Steps Self-Determination Theory (SDT) – the idea “that motivation, in the workplace or elsewhere, requires that you fulfill three basic psychological needs: Be Patient: Adopt this style of 10X diligence, as acquiring capital can take time. Be willing to reject shiny pursuits, as these will derail your ability to gain the capital you need.Even if anyone wants to keep you at bay due to any reason, they will be unable to do so because talent always shows. It has a way of showing because it is natural and has been worked upon thereby making one truly excellent at their endeavors. In one survey, the strongest predictor of an assistant seeing her work as a calling was the number of years on the job. Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) – the corporate philosophy that shows the power of control by emphasizing that all that matters is your results
Great Deal 
New Comment