This week’s book learning is part I of a 5 part series from ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ by Cal Newport.
Heads up first – this is one of the best books I have read. It is a manifesto-style book and doesn’t have a traditional story approach. I will be covering all 4 principles as in the book and hope to do them justice.
Cal’s advice is opposite to conventional wisdom – “Don’t follow your passion. Rather, let it follow you in your quest to become so good that they can’t ignore you.”
He points out that if a young Steve Jobs had taken his own advice (in his famous Stanford commencement speech) and decided to only pursue work he loved, he would probably have been a popular zen teacher at the Los Altos Zen Center. But, he didn’t follow this simple advice. Apple Computer was decidedly not born out of passion, but instead was the result of a lucky break – a “small-time” scheme that unexpectedly took off!
Research has shown that the happiest, most passionate employees are not those who followed their passion into a position, but instead those who have been around long enough to become good at what they do. Scientists have found that motivation requires us to fulfill three basic psychological needs:
– Autonomy: the feeling that you have control over your day, and that your actions are important
– Competence: the feeling that you are good at what you do
– Relatedness: the feeling of connection to other people
Never was it found that “matching work to pre-existing ability, interests, passions, or personality” is important for motivation.
I think Cal’s book is brilliant because he’s tested all of what he says and I find that it all ties very well with the principles I have picked up over the past few years, like deliberate practice.
He makes a compelling case and it is a book that I would highly recommend, should you be looking for an addition to your bookshelf. More to follow in the other 3 parts of the series, of course..
And, in a funny way, it seems to tie into what Viktor Frankl might say – Be so good and passion will ensue simply because you forgot to think about it. :-)
Here’s to listening to letting our passions follow our excellence, this week!
A Learning a Day 