<ul>
<li>A "passion mindset" focuses on what the world can offer to you - what perfect job can you find to fit your passions? This often leads to confusion and wandering from job to job.</li>
<li>A "craftsman mindset" focuses on what you can offer the world in whatever position you are in and offers clarity.</li>
</ul>

Think about what you can offer the world

Once you've developed your career capital and learned some rare and valuable skills, you will be more valuable to your employer.
Use this leverage to negotiate shorter hours, more freedom, etc.

Use career capital to "buy" perks

Deliberate practice = practice that stretches your abilities and provides instant feedback
It has been estimated by interviewing masters of particular skills that to excel at a complex task takes 10,000 hours of practice. You need to have patience and keep working.

It takes practice to build career capital

Little bets = bite-sized, carefully chosen projects that take no more than a few months, give you valuable feedback, and help you to determine your next steps.
You don't need to commit to a project that will determine your work life for the next few years. Take on small projects and continuously adapt.

Take on "little bets"

To create a successful project it must:
<ol>
<li>Compel people who discover it to tell others (nothing that has been done before or is boring)</li>
<li>Be launched in a venue that supports that sharing (the internet, social media, research journals, etc.)</li>
</ol>

The "law of remarkability"

A job that satisfies the ingredients of intrinsic motivation is rare and valuable, so you need to develop rare and valuable skills to offer in exchange.
Career capital = the value of competencies, knowledge and individual personality attributes you have to produce economic value." (LinkedIn)

To get a great job you have to offer something great

Few people have a passion that neatly translates into a career, and following one's passions often leads to misguided career moves. Rather, your satisfaction at work has more to do with your experience with that work rather than the type of work.
To have intrinsic motivation at work, you need:
<ol>
<li>Autonomy - feeling like you have control over your time</li>
<li>Competence – the feeling that you’re good at your work</li>
<li>Relatedness – connecting with other people in the process</li>
</ol>

"Follow your passions" is bad advice

In an unorthodox approach, Georgetown University professor Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice, and sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving their careers. Not only are pre-existing passions rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work, but a focus on passion over skill can be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers. Cal reveals that matching your job to a pre-existing passion does not matter. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it. With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love, and will change the way you think about careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

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In an unorthodox approach, Georgetown University professor Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice, and sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving their careers. Not only are pre-existing passions rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work, but a focus on passion over skill can be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers. Cal reveals that matching your job to a pre-existing passion does not matter. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it. With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love, and will change the way you think about careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

Cal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m 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."

Think about what you can offer the world

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