On Principle # 2 “Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”

This week’s learning is part 2 of a 5 part series from ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ by Cal Newport. (Part 1)

There are 2 parts to this principle.

First, build “career capital“. Career capital theory says that you first build up rare and valuable skills and then use these skills as leverage to shape you career into something you love.

So, how do you build career capital? Adopt the craftsman mindset.

Why? The deep questions driving the passion mindset i.e. “Who am I?”, “What do I truly love?” are essentially impossible to confirm and can keep us perpetually unhappy and confused. The craftman mindset, instead, asks us to leave behind our self centered concerns and just plug away at getting damn good.

So, Cal’s advice here is simple – regardless of how you feel about your job right now, adopt the craftsman mindset and focus on what you deliver. By doing this, we move from asking the question “What can the world offer me?” (passion mindset) to “What can I offer the world?” (craftsman mindset).

 

Another incredibly powerful thought. I realized, as I was writing this, that 4 parts would not be enough. So, I added a 5th part to ensure I did justice to a question that is likely on your mind – what is this “craftsman” mindset all about?

Coming up next week..

Here’s to simply focusing on what we deliver and can offer, this week!