So Good They Can't Ignore You

“Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion.”

This book resonated with me deeply. Nearly every piece of career advice I've come across in the past twenty years says something to the effect of “follow your passion.” As someone who's never quite identified a singular, overwhelming passion, I've experienced tremendous angst throughout my career, wondering if I'm doing the right thing, following the right path.

This book debunks the “follow your passion” cliche and instead encourages the “craftsman mindset” of putting your head down and getting really good at something that's valuable. To quote Newport's blog:

“The Career Craftsman believes that mastery is just the first step in crafting work you love. Once you have the leverage of a rare and valuable skill, you need to apply this leverage strategically to make your working life increasingly fulfulling. It is then — and only then — that you should expect a feeling of passion for your work to truly take hold.” (cite: http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/08/11/the-career-craftsman-manifesto/)

There are many other great principles in the book that I want to chew on, but this idea of rejecting the passion mindset is a tremendous “aha!” for me as I think about what sort of work I want to pursue.