So Good They Can't Ignore You
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So Good They Can't Ignore You
Narrated by:
Dave Mallow
Buy Now for $24.07
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Narrated by:
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Dave Mallow
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By:
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Cal Newport
About this listen
Newport, who graduated from Dartmouth College (Phi Beta Kappa) and earned a PhD. from MIT, contends that trying to find what drives us, instead of focusing on areas in which we naturally excel, is ultimately harmful and frustrating to job seekers.
The title is a direct quote from comedian Steve Martin who, when once asked why he was successful in his career, immediately replied: "Be so good they can't ignore you" and that's the main basis for Newport's book. Skill and ability trump passion.
Inspired by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs' famous Stanford University commencement speech in which Jobs urges idealistic grads to chase their dreams, Newport takes issue with that advice, claiming that not only is thsi advice Pollyannish, but that Jobs himself never followed his own advice.
From there, Newport presents compelling scientific and contemporary case study evidence that the key to one's career success is to find out what you do well, where you have built up your 'career capital,' and then to put all of your efforts into that direction.©2012 Calvin C. Newport
Critic Reviews
Stop worrying about what you feel like doing and instead, start creating something meaningful and then give it to the world. Cal really delivers with this one (Seth Godin, author of Linchpin)
Entrepreneurial professionals must develop a competitive advantage by building valuable skills. This book offers advice based on research and reality--not meaningless platitudes-- on how to invest in yourself in order to stand out from the crowd. An important guide to starting up a remarkable career. (Reid Hoffman, co-founder & chairman of LinkedIn and co-author of the bestselling The Start-Up of You)
Do what you love and the money will follow' sounds like great advice - until it's time to get a job and disillusionment quickly sets in. Cal Newport ably demonstrates how the quest for 'passion' can corrode job satisfaction. If all he accomplished with this book was to turn conventional wisdom on its head, that would be interesting enough. But he goes further - offering advice and examples that will help you bypass the disillusionment and get right to work building skills that matter. (Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind)
This book changed my mind. It has moved me from 'find your passion, so that you can be useful' to 'be useful so that you can find your passion.' That is a big flip, but it's more honest, and that is why I am giving each of my three young adult children a copy of this unorthodox guide. (Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick, WIRED magazine)
Excellent read!
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Great book
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It reinforced things I have been doing throughout my own career and business life, but had no idea of the power unti now.
Great Book!
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Spoiler alert:
Deliberate practice where are you set out to focus on purpose on a task that is beyond what you are comfortable with is a brilliant practical application that he discusses.
Another great takeaway was the soothing balm that comes with hearing stories that the path isn't always straight ahead and that if you keep doing your best work and search the adjacent possibilities and act on them, that you will come to your own personal mission and triumph.
Control as a part of the career elixir, I think he called it, makes a lot of sense in a world where we don't want to work 9-to-5 in an office job and that is a component of why leaving it all behind to work on a farm becomes so enticing. I love that he investigated that and came up with a base reason of this trend so that we can find that control within our own careers and feel like we have the autonomy to make free choices.
Overall the books message is to keep working and build career capital, stretch yourself by deliberate practice which also helps build career capital, and continue to look to the adjacent possibilities in your field, and be comfortable that this will take many years to gain enough career capital to have control in your working life.
Practical And Logical Process and Advice
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Would you consider the audio edition of So Good They Can't Ignore You to be better than the print version?
I got the audio book as a refresher since I had already read the book. They're both equally great!What was one of the most memorable moments of So Good They Can't Ignore You?
I love how Cal Newport brings to light that success and 'passion' take hard work and dedication but still making sure you focus on something you don't hate/have a genuine interest in...What does Dave Mallow bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Emphasis in the right placesWas this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yep, definitely.Inspirational and Hoenst
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