This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Do you know how to be so good they can’t ignore you? How can you set yourself up to call the shots with your job?
Cal Newport shares four rules for how you can be so good they can’t ignore you. Ultimately this leads to job satisfaction. The first rule is this: Don’t concern yourself with passion. He debunks the “passion hypothesis” and shows how following your passion is the wrong way to pursue your dream job.
Read more to learn how to be so good they can’t ignore you.
Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You
In 2010, as author Cal Newport wrapped up his postdoctoral associate at MIT and started looking for a professorship, he began to wonder: What makes people love their work? As he waited to hear back about his job applications, he studied performance science, interviewed people about their professional successes and failures, and tested out his hypotheses on his own career and life.
Interestingly, he discovered that the best way to find or create work you love is not to follow your passion, as so many career counselors, books, and well-meaning mentors advise. In fact, the best way to love what you do is to become highly skilled—to be so good they can’t ignore you. Then, you can offer your skills in exchange for work that allows you autonomy and the opportunity to change the world, two of the most significant contributors to workplace satisfaction.
To be so good they can’t ignore you, follow these four rules for loving your work:
- Don’t concern yourself with passion.
- Instead, improve your skills.
- Cash in your skills for autonomy.
- Cash in your skills for the opportunity to change the world.
Rule #1: Don’t Concern Yourself With Passion
In this rule, we’ll debunk the “passion hypothesis”—the idea that a job that lets you exercise a pre-existing passion is guaranteed to make you happy. While the passion hypothesis is popular, the author believes it’s flawed for several reasons:
Reason #1: Scientists have uncovered three major discoveries that debunk the passion hypothesis:
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Here's what you'll find in our full So Good They Can't Ignore You summary :
- What makes people love their work
- Why following your passion is not the path to loving your work
- The four rules for loving your work
