So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

I buy books to read. Most importantly for me, this book was a real page turner, the way it was written and narratives weaved together. The career advice was certainly thought provoking, and the cautions about the gig economy and entrepreneurship should probably be read by more people in this current time of hype around one person business.

In short, although I didn't agree with everything he said, especially in part four of the book, I found Cal Newport's ideas and conclusions to be extremely valuable advice for anyone, especially those starting or middling a career. Even though I disagree with part four, however, I think the rest of the advice is so valuable it trumps the one weaker section to make a solid 5-stars. I sort of hope my competition never reads this book.In length:So Good They Can't Ignore You is a fantastic little book that really surprised me on many levels. I had it highly recommended to me, but I have to admit I was a little skeptical--Cal seemed a little young and early in his career to be dispensing what friends told me was 'invaluable career advice'. Having read the book, it makes more sense--Cal has a lot of career capital already built up. (Read the book to find out more).Cal's central theme is that the idea that you can quit your job and follow your passions indiscriminately towards work you will personally love and find to be your calling in life is essentially bogus--good things don't come without hard work, and rare and valuable things are purchased in exchange for other rare and valuable things. After providing a series of examples of people who failed to live the 'work-passion-dream', and citing some interesting studies and articles, Cal launches into the real meat of the book--how to find work we will really love. The first step is something called career capital--making yourself valuable. The second step is understanding when and how to take control of your career--you *can* quit your dayjob and form a startup, eventually, if you play your cards right and work towards it in the right way. Finally, Cal dwells on the importance of having a mission in your career to provide focus and passion.I found the book mostly extremely well-written, with fair organization and solid logic throughout--you can see that he is a computer science professional at heart. His explanations, especially in the first sections of the book, match my own observations so well that it's hard to deny he has a good number of points well-made. I found, however, that the fourth section, about missions, was less compelling, less organized, and perhaps even less well thought through. Still, I recommend reading through that section to understand his viewpoints, even if I personally found them much less applicable than the other parts of the book.The conclusion made me love this book again, even after disagreeing with part 4. He outlines how he has used each of the sections of this book in his own career, and not only did I find it generally interesting, I actually found some of his specific recommendations to be valuable in my career. It isn't often that a book I read fundamentally changes how I look at anything, least of all my career--I'm a CPA, for heaven's sake. As a matter of habit, I dislike risk and change.

I waited with much anticipation for this book after recently finishing Newport's "How to be a High School Superstar." "So Good They Can't Ignore You" is a solid exploration of the specific components that make one a better performer and includes some examples of how to develop those areas.Newport's greatest strength is delivering on every question and anticipated skepticism his implied audience has about every step of his argument. Newport fleshes out each theory he provides in extremely clear detail, and then goes on to address every conceivable concern a reader might have about each area. The first obvious skepticism he has to answer for is "does passion matter" in the quest for meaningful work -- he does this by providing clear counter-examples from real-life statistics about how many successful people do not arrive at meaningful work by following a passion. I appreciate the lengths to which he explores the implications of both 1) pursuing passion and 2) arriving at a passion through hard work.The biggest and most profound takeaway I learned from the book is the notion of deliberate practice, and what exercises separate deliberate practice from "mindless" practice, of a skill you are trying to develop. This has already affected how I approach writing, and has given me insight into why learning a variety of languages (for which I was already employing this technique, but hadn't named it) have been so effective. Narrowing down deliberate practice and exploring how it applies to sciences, math, art is by far the most compelling point of the book.Admittedly, there is one area of the book that fell short for me, but not enough to take down the star-level of my review, which I believe the book has earned. This is the concept of mission statements. While I like the idea in theory, I think it's much more applicable to the sciences and technology than some pursuits like writing and liberal arts. I have 12+ years of skill-building in those areas, but don't see as many opportunities for the "purple cow" phenomenon of finding a remarkable idea that will innovate the field or the world. In this respect, I wish Newport had discussed in more detail how the "purple cow" and cutting edge innovations applies to the humanities, especially those which are as specific as medieval poetry, for example. The closest approximation I see is via the early example of the television screenwriter whose job is to do a better job writing tv scripts than most everyone else. But what would his mission statement be? His deliberate practice makes sense, but I have a difficult time connecting the mission statement concept to his work. More guidance in this area would be welcome.Overall an outstanding book and one I have already sent as gifts to some friends.

Hands down the best self development book on career acceleration and purpose I’ve ever read.