Core Idea: Don't Follow Your Passion

Cal Newport explains a #CoreIdea about #DoNotFollowYourPassion. Cal explains the background of his book, "So Good They Can't Ignore You".

The reality of building a career of what you really love is VERY complicated. The key is following the goal of ending up what your passionate about. Obtaining rare and valuable skills is key to offer in exchange for building a career you love.

You need to get skills and then use those skills as leverage. Cal calls this #CareerCapitalTheory

0:00 Cal's intro
0:28 Cal gives some background
0:47 Cal explains his book So Good They Can't Ignore You
1:40 The most common answer
2:24 Lack of evidence about careers
3:10 The cliche of building jobs out of hobbies
4:20 Follow the goal of ending up what your passionate about
5:13 Cal's discovery
5:40 Offering rare and valuable skills
6:00 Leveraging your skills
6:46 Career Capital Theory
7:13 Deliberate practice
8:14 Cal explains Lifestyle Centric Career Planning
10:55 Cal's summary

Connect with Cal Newport:

About Cal Newport:
Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. In addition to his academic research, he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. Cal's particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives.

Cal is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. He's also the creator of The Time-Block Planner.

The videos are considered to be used under the "Fair Use Doctrine" of United States Copyright Law, Title 17 U.S. Code Sections 107-118. Videos are used for editorial and educational purposes only and I do not claim ownership of any original video content. I don't use said video clips in advertisements, marketing or for direct financial gain. All video content in each clip is considered owned by the individual broadcast companies.

#CalNewport #DeepWork #DeepLife #DeepQuestions #TimeblockPlanner
#WorldWithoutEmail #DeepQuestionsPodcast

[MosesRabuka]

“If you want to love what you do, abandon the passion mindset and instead adopt the craftsman mindset, what can I offer the world?” ~ Cal Newport

[blahbobaba]

Every high school senior on the planet should have to read Cal’s book before graduating. Try, Fail, Iterate, and develop your passion.

Take action and GET GOOD. This would have saved me a ton of existential angst while struggling to “find my passion”. Pretty cool that this wisdom is so readily available here on YouTube

[jibberish]

I loved, “don’t follow your passion, follow the goal that leads to becoming passionate about your work”. A very important distinction! Also, I love how the craftsman’s perspective is more altruistic, more about offering the world something than it is about self satisfaction.

[keanuleachay]

This is what I got, correct me if I fudged it up:
- find a job you have at least some interest in
- obsess over certain skills that are valuable and get better at them
- this skill acquisition will give u leverage to basically re-engineer or negotiate your way to the ideal life you actually want that u deem is deep

[petecam]

This is such great advice. I like what Mike Rowe said “Don’t follow your passion, but bring it with you.” People forget that the people who have “made it” in a career path have worked really hard to get there like Cal said. They spent hours and hours perfecting their skills and getting good at what they do.

[jinnytrang]

Your book solidified my decision to pursue neurosurgery a few years ago and I have not looked back since. Have recommended this book to several others who have seen how far my career has taken me. Thank you, Dr. Newport!

[everytimesthefirsttime]

I cant even begin te explain how much of a positive drastic turn this video gave me to my perspective on work. This is life changing advice. Thank you so much for this

[isaacepstein]

After watching this video a few days go, I went and read your book. Damn, I wish I would've found this 10 years ago. I've been agonizing over the "perfect" career for so long. Lucikly I've stuck with what I do during that time and have some serious career capital. I'm looking forward to cashing it in for a more "rare and valuable" situation. Thanks, Cal.

[proverbalizer]

when you are passionate about something your skill at it grows past you talent, when you have no passion for something your skill stagnates way below the potential of your talent. The best in the world at anything are almost always the most passionate about it. Passion is what allows you to put in the work that will make you stunningly good. You will just be getting warmed up where others are getting burnt out.

[tomquagliata]

“The world doesn’t care if you’re happy in your job.” Boy, is that ever true. Cultivate a skill that’s in demand, and yes - bring your passion with you. You will be rewarded. And then your passion will be capitalizing on this.

[elizabethacosta-rayos]

I thought about making my hobby a side gig, but I changed my mind because I didn't want to start to hate my hobby.

[UnprofessionalAthlete]

I loved "So Good They can't Ignore You", I first read it when I was approaching the end of university back in 2015. I didnt know what I wanted to do in life and what I learned in that book was to leverage what I already learned and my degree in biochemistry which eventually lead me to go to a technical college to get more comfortable w laboratory skills and even got a coop position and eventually a permanent position at that same place.

[larissacury]

Reading Cal's book has really changed the way I think about things for the better.

[peterkovic]

I have many interests, but not many passions, and I definitely don't have any singular "Passion". Because of this, it's a little scary when someone says follow your passion because I don't really have one. I just have a bunch of different things I"m interested in.

[temimaskoshercooking]

The value of that content cannot be overstated.

Don't follow your passion, follow your market desired and needed skill sets.

[mihiershandilya]

It is important to follow your passion 1st.Just to get it out of system. Otherwise you will keep on thinking about it and feel regretful about not giving it a try. But it is important to fail fast. Give it all and fail fast.
Then reflect and pick a good career with rare and valuable skills.
Steve Jobs explored a lot.He became a hippie.But when he got that out of his system.He came back and started thinking about the opportunities.
I prefer Naval Ravikant advice if you want to be the the best at your niche.If I fail, I will follow Cal's Advice but atleast I wo't have any regret of not trying.

[Akaki]

I loved your book a lot, I'm exactly in the situation you described "fresh out of college, not knowing what to do with life". Have made tons of notes, both from book and this vid/google talk vid, and even made action plan based on all the info, condensing all of it down to 3-4 pages. Will try to implement all that to become "so good they can't ignore me" and use my skills to build up somewhat optimal life.

Wish I found your book back in 2017, when I started college, but, well, better late than never (to be fair early-mid 20s isn't "late" but from my perspective it's the whole life so it does seem late lol). Anyways, thanks for all the information it's pretty valuable

[romasliv]

Im recently introduced to cal Newport, I'm loving it, I have this problem of "following passion" as a sanguine, and I'm always changing these passions 😁. I wish I would listen to this before got into college.

[berke]

I might just keep this video as a reminder when I feel down

[lesterdelacruz]

I think in his definition of passion I can see it helping a group of individuals. In regards engaging with the societal rules of the moment where one attains skillsets that will yield them resources to put themselves in a position in life with more options.

The problem in this argument is it assumes that passion is a; 1) a preexisting interest. 2) it is something to find or outside external to attain. Passion has many levels of meaning and this is ignored here.

To a neurologist, Huberman sees passion as that small dopamine hit to motivate you to move to a goal you desire. Very base level.

To Steve Jobs, its that north star that you push forward for and you navigate your way through the material world to best realize it. Deeper level.

With that said, I believe the book So Good They Can't Ignore You misrepresents Steve Jobs passion. It assumes it's in technology. I don't believe that. I believe his real passion is to make a statement in the world. To try to build great things that would validate his time on earth. Personal opinion is, I think this has to do with being orphaned. Don't quote me on this I am not a psychologist, just have an opinion. If he built amazing things, will he then be worthy to people who are biologically supposed to value him from the start by birthing him. Just so happened that the by-product of his attempt to a solution to his pain is of that technologies we use today.

In the movie Imitation Game. If you look at Alan Turing, you might say his passion is building a computer. But I don't believe so. I believe his passion was to attempt to find a solution to his loneliness. Judging by the fact that he named his computer the same name as the only friend he lost. His computer is the by-product of this attempt, yet he still died lonely and depressed. Giving the lesson that pursuit of passion doesn't necessarily mean happiness.

This brings me back to defining passion again. I think Cal Newports definition of passion though not incorrect is narrow. I can see how a lot of people who may operate in this meaning of passion can certainly benefit from his book. So, I think there is still value in his book for many.

On the other hand, if you are young, you may encounter Cal Newport definition of passion and accept that as all there is. That is where I believe this can backfire. It can ruin your opportunity for deeper meanings of the word passion and the world may miss the value you create out of them.