So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Book Review

Are you so good they can’t ignore you?

As a college student and aspiring professional digital marketer, here is my take on why you should read So Good They Can’t Ignore You.

Each section will summarize brief points on every chapter, followed by analysis and applications.

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. A portion of products you purchase from these links will go to support Chris Dismissed, thank you!

Summary: So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Chris Dismissed Rating: (8/10)

Overall: So Good They Can’t Ignore You is a crucial read for any college student, professional or other individual looking to reshape their view on passions and achieving true, practical career success.

Cons:

• The book is not highly technical (packed with original research).
• Newport doesn’t always thoroughly examine every point presented in the book.
• Prioritizes reader approachability or technical data.
• It isn’t a short read (~300 pages)

Rule #1: Don’t Follow Your Passions

You should always follow your passions and go after what you love right?

Well, maybe not.

Here’s what Cal Newport has to say about following your passions.

Chapter 1: Don’t Follow Your Passion

You need to love what you do, not simply do what you love.

Steve Jobs (one of the most successful men in modern history), gave a well-known commencement address to Stanford graduates on following their passions.

What many don’t know is that Jobs was never interested in computers as a child. It wasn’t his passion.

But he forged on, built skills, sought opportunities and grew to love what he did.

(Check out Inc.com’s helpful article on clarifying Steve Job’s message).

Chapter 2: Passion is Rare

Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion.

True career passions are rare, most people see their hobbies as passions.

Additionally, genuine passion takes time, patience, and perseverance.

Credible passions are the result (side effect) of mastery of a certain skill or discipline.

Newport cites Self-Determination Theory which is a theory rooted in the human motivation for growth.

In this way, one element of human passion can be the motivation to grow in something that we seek competence in.

Chapter 3: Passion is Dangerous

According to Cal Newport following your passions can make you unhappy.

In the intro of So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Newport writes about a young man named Thomas who pursued his passion of becoming a Zen Buddhist monk.

Eventually however, Thomas realized that the lives of monks were far different from his expectations and he ended up wasting time, money, and energy following his passion and living in a monestary.

In many cases passion leads to confusion and angst in a person’s life. Passion can be dangerous.

But that doesn’t mean that you should give up your passions. In fact, Cal Newport acknowledges that some people who follow their passions end of succeeding.

Despite this glimmer of hope for the passion hypothesis the statistical chance of you succeeding by only following your passions is starkly low.

Rule #1 Key Takeaways:

• Loving what you do > doing what you love.
• We follow our passions because we’re motivated to grow.
• The statistical probability of succeeding by following your passion is very low.

Analysis and Application

What does this mean for you and me? Should we forfeit our passions and inner dreams?

On the contrary, Cal Newport urges us to seek our inner passions but put them into practice.

Don’t wait to try out something that you have always been passionate about. Take action on it in a safe way. Your passion might just work out for you!

However, if it doesn’t end up working out you should move to Rule #2.

Want to know about more practice tips to following your passion properly? Check out my article on building atomic habits below.

Related: How to build Atomic Habits (11 Key Takeaways)

Rule #2: Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Skill)

Chapter 4: The Clarity of the Craftsman

There are two mindsets that you can use to approach your career. The passion mindset and the craftsman mindset.

The passion mindset states that people thrive by focusing on who they really are and connecting that to what they love.

One problem with this mindset is that it is often (albeit unintentionally) egocentric.

The main question you ask when you are in the passion mindset is: What can the world offer ME so that I can follow MY dreams?

On the other hand, the craftsman mindset focuses on worrying less about details and focusing on becoming better.

Actually, the craftsman mindset is highly correlated with the growth mindset.

The main question you ask when acquiring the craftsman mindset is: How can I serve the world so good they can’t ignore me? (Improper grammar but you know what I mean).

Craftsmen and craftswomen strive for excellence, never settle for mediocre, and constantly focus on growth in serving others.

Chapter 5: The Power of Career Capital

The craftsman mindset is an important way to build career capital (LinkedIn definition).

Newport explains career capital as the value that a person develops from their skills, experiences, and knowledge in a particular sector of society.

Career capital is directly correlated with the career success and economic success of an individual.

When you start following the craftsman mindset you should focus on building career capital that allows you to spring forth into new growth.

There are 3 distinct situations that will limit your ability to apply the craftsman mindset and build career capital in a job or work environment:

1. The job presents few opportunities to distinguish yourself
2. The job focuses on something you think is useless
3. The job forces you to work with people you really dislike

Related: 5 Reasons to Read a Book a Week (3 Reasons Not To!)

Chapter 6: The Career Capitalists

Alex Berger and Mike Jackson are two great examples of people that developed a propensity for career capital.

They understood something very fundamental but not widely practiced in society: in order to be a great scriptwriter you need to be great at writing scripts.

What does that even mean?

It means that if you want to be proficient at anything you need to:

• Devote yourself to learning and action in your field
• Hone your craft to a high level by spending time and energy practicing.
• Obtain a deep understanding of your craft.
• Be serious about doing what you do well.

Chapter 7: Becoming a Craftsman

We’ve often heard that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at a particular subject.

Although this number is a vast estimation and numbers vary greatly one thing remains clear: focused time and energy reap results.

By dedicating deliberate practice with methods that provide instant feedback on your practice, you will be able to rapidly improve in your chosen craft.

Newport also describes the 5 habits of craftsmen:

1. Decide what capital market you’re in
2. Identify your capital type
3. Define “good”
4. Stretch and destroy
5. Be patient

Craftsmen are okay with producing bad quality work privately in order to improve. Craftsman prioritized growth and are not ashamed of failure.

Be a craftsman.

Rule #2 Key Takeaways:

• Adopting the craftsman mindset is process that will lead to growth and long-term career satisfaction.
• Deliberate practice > unorganized randomness.
• Instant feedback is crucial for any practice methodology.

Analysis and Application

What can you take away from this?

You need to specify the best way that you can quickly adapt a craftsman mindset and begin to build career capital.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is something that I can deliberately practice with fast feedback?
• How can I build career capital in my industry of choice?
• When can I integrate this practice into my daily routine?

Rule #3: Turn Down a Promotion (Control)

Chapter 8: The Dream-Job Elixir

There is no dream job that will fit all of your passions and your expectations.

Even if you build your own company with the hopes of fulfilling your wildest passions you will run into daily struggles that force you back into reality.

What you need is a ROWE.

A ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) gives people more control over what they do and how they do it.

It increase their happiness, engagement and sense of fulfillment.

Finding a ROWE is more important than chasing passions because a ROWE will give you the freedom to develop competency.

Chapter 9: The First Control Trap

It’s dangerous to pursue more control in working life before you have enough career capital.

You need to have something rare, unique, and valuable about you in order to negotiate change.

If you do not have enough career capital, you cannot leverage a negotiation with your manager or boss.

Chapter 10: The Second Control Trap

When you have enough career capital employers may fight against your efforts to gain control.

Teach yourself to build some badass skills (career capital) that they can’t ignore.

Become invaluable so that they are forced to hear you (negotiation skills).

Expect resistance from your managers, but make sure that you stand your ground when you know that you’re worth it.

Chapter 11: Avoiding the Control Traps

Obey The law of financial viability. Do only what people are willing to pay for.

You should only pursue a bid for more control if you have evidence that it’s something people are willing to pay for.

If people aren’t willing to pay for it, move on.

Because if people aren’t willing to pay for it, you aren’t going to get paid for it.

Related: 10 Best Books I’ve Read This Year (2020)

Rule #3 Key Takeaways:

• Gain control over what you do and how you do it by leveraging your career capital.
• It’s dangerous to try to gain more control without enough capital (risk being fired).
• When you have enough capital people will try to control your skill, you will get pushback.
• Do what people are willing to pay for.

Analysis and Application

This section is an extension of the last one. You need to gain control of your job situation through the usage of practical and applicable skills.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I chasing a dream-job that will never come?
• Am I falling into a control trap?
• Do I have control/leverage in my position at work or in school?

Rule #4: Think Small Act Big (Mission)

Chapter 12: The Meaningful Life of Pardis Sabeti

Pardis Sabeti is a woman on a mission to rid the world of the most ancient and deadly disease.

Being a craftsman doesn’t mean ignoring your dreams and ambitions. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Strive to achieve meaning through your work.

You can do this by defining a mission for yourself in all of your work.

A unifying mission to your working life can be a source of great satisfaction

Happiness comes from the fact that you build your career on a clear and compelling mission

Chapter 13: Missions Require Capital

Missions that are chosen before you have relevant career capital are probably not sustainable.

The adjacent is where passion and practical meet.

A good career mission is similar to a scientific breakthrough-you must be waiting as close to the edge of the adjacent possible

You need passion but you usually don’t truly know what your true passion is.

Pardis herself stated that many different missions seemed compelling before she started deliberately working and building skills

Build up your stores of career capital but keep a lookout for your mission.

Once you find your mission and obtain significant career capital, you need to act big and go all in!

Chapter 14: Missions Require Little Bets

Great Missions are transformed into great successes as the result of small and achievable projects of little bets.

A mission should explore the concrete possibilities surrounding a compelling idea.

Take small steps to what might be a good direction. This allows for unexpected avenues, detours, and outcomes.

Don’t try to swing at everything at once, instead leverage the little wins in life to lead to your ultimate mission.

Chapter 15: Missions Require Marketing

Follow the law of remarkable marketability

For mission drive project to succeed it should be remarkable in 2 ways

1. It must compel people who encounter it to remark about it to others
2. It must be launched in a venue that supports such remarking.

Rule #4 Key Takeaways:

In order to construct a passionate life around work that you love you must:

• Have rare and valuable skills.
• Cash your skills out for compelling careers.
• Have a mission on the adjacent (cutting-edge).
• Use little bets and feedback to help figure out what’s next.
• Obey the law of remarkability.

Analysis and Application

Rule #4 is all about taking your career capital and cashing it in for a mission through small, steady steps.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What career capital do I have (skills, accomplishments, degrees)?
• How can I cash these in for a meaningful mission?
• Where do I see my lifelong mission going in a practical manner?
• What are the 5 next steps that I can take to achieve this mission?

Related: 5 Solid Steps To Building Unbreakable Habits

What Should YOU Do Now?

Now that you’ve gotten to the end of the book it’s time to apply some of these principles to your own life.

Here are some things to remember:

Don’t Follow Your Passion, Build Skills to Find Your Mission

Cal Newport doesn’t shut down our dreams in So Good They Can’t Ignore You.

He simply wants us to find the best avenue to find our real passions and work toward something meaningful.

Start by thinking about what you’re currently passionate about and which one of those passions you can use to turn into a practical, valuable skill.

Then shift yourself into the craftsman mindset and deliberately practice your skill in an environment which gives fast feedback.

Find a Results oriented work environment to express your skills and build your career capital.

Cash in that career capital for a lifelong mission that you are actually passionate about.

Apply These Concepts Starting… NOW!

One of the worst things to do after reading a book (or a book summary) is to stand still and refuse to take action.

Trust me, I’ve fallen victim to this hundreds of times. If you want to take action all you need to do is ask yourself a few great questions, then answer them.

Ask yourself the following questions (taken from each part):

• What is my passion and how can I build a practical skill out of it?
• What is something that I can deliberately practice with fast feedback?
• How can I build career capital in my industry of choice?
• When can I integrate this practice into my daily routine?
• Am I chasing a dream-job that will never come?
• Am I falling into a control trap?
• Do I have control/leverage in my position at work or in school?
• What career capital do I have (skills, accomplishments, degrees)?
• How can I cash these in for a meaningful mision?
• Where do I see my lifelong mission going in a practical manner?
• What are the 5 next steps that I can take to achieve this mission?

If you want to learn an essential skill that will make you so good they can’t ignore you check out my article on why every college student should learn digital marketing (even if you’re not a college student).

Related: 7 Surprising Reasons Every Student Should Learn Digital Marketing

Conclusion

You can download this article as a PDF here!

Thanks for reading and I hope you become So Good They Can’t Ignore You!

Class Dismissed,

Chris Chan