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So Good They Can't Ignore You (7) Becoming a craftsman (5 habits (1)…
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Introduction
Thomas, dream to become Zen monk
Mu Koan
Understanding, but not peace
Importance of mastery rather than passion
Acquisition and investment of career capital
1) The 'Passion' of Steve Jobs
Stanford commencement speech
Argues Jobs was in the right place at the right time
'Passion Hypothesis'
2) Passion is rare
Graduate film project published by PBS
People take indirect routes to ultimate work
People more likely to consider their job a calling the longer they have it
Time develops competence, so we can enjoy our work more
3) Passion is dangerous
What Color is Your Parachute
Looking for ideal career makes people unhappy
Making more, but satisfaction in work decreasing over time
4) The clarity of the craftsman
Jordan Tice, bluegrass musician
Steve Martin took 10 years to develop his style
Dedication to output
Craftsman mindset - focus on what you can offer the world, not what the world can offer you
Offers clarity and leads to passion - passion mindset leads to frustration
5) The power of career capital
Creativity, impact and control make work great
Have to offer something rare and valuable in return
Lisa Feuer's yoga studio vs. Joe Duffy's design agency
Craftsmanship doesn't work in some cases, have to believe work has value, chance to develop skills
Avoid being forced to work with people you dislike!
6) The career capitalists
Alex Berger, television writer
Focused on writing good scripts
Series of career capital transactions
Looked only for good writing opportunities
Mike Jackson, clean energy venture capitalist
Studied biology and earth systems
Became expert on renewable energy credits (few people knew how these worked)
Leveraged different experiences
7) Becoming a craftsman
Cal Newport spent the same amount of time practising guitar as Jordanc Tice did
But Jordan practised mastering difficult new things, Newport did what he already knew
Mental strain, instant feedback
Chess: serious study beat tournament play for mastery
Obsessively seek feedback
Ratio of hours; what brings value, helps improve vs. what doesn't
5 habits
1) Which capital market: winner takes all vs. auctions
2) Capital type, look for 'open gates', opportunities
3) Define 'good' - where are you going
4) Stretch and destroy - avoid easy, plateaus
5) Be patient - ensure time is spent on right things
9) The first control trap
Lure of 'lifestyle design'
Wanting just the rewards
Control without career capital is not sustainable
8) The dream-job elixir
Ryan Voiland, Red Fire Farm
Learned to grow things and business at school, renting land
10) The second control trap
Lulu Young, sofrware developer
Demanded 30-hour week
Turned down promotions, joined small startup
Resistance at each 'transaction'
Courage required here
When you have enough career capital to make your own decisions, this is exactly when your employer will try to prevent this
11) Avoiding the control traps
Derek Sivers - do only what people are willing to pay for
'Law of financial viability'
Money as an indicator of value
Seek evidence that people are willing to pay - if not, move on
12) The meaningful life of Pardis Sabeti
Professor of evolutionary biology
Computational genetics
Need to develop expertise before choosing mission
13) Missions require capital
Steven Johnson, looking at simultaneous discoveries phenomenon
New ideas tend to be in the 'adjacent possible' area of knowledge
Need to reach the cutting edge before being able to access this - knowledge and career capital
14) Missions require little bets
Kirk French - archaeologist, host of Discovery Channel show American Treasures
Specialised in Mayans
Then restoring old documentaries, making DVDs - led to TV opportunities
Incremental, small bets - Chris Rock, testing on small crowds
15) Missions require marketing
Giles Bowkett - ruby programming, creator of Archaeoptryx
Art of building things worth noticing
Things that are remarkable, literally worth remark
Need to be marketed in right community / space
Conclusion
Focus on deliberate study/practice
Combating resistance, sticking with a problem
Summarising proofs, understanding advanced concepts
'Research bible', summarising useful papers and ideas
Hour tally every week/month
Focus on craft and practice rather than productivity
Focus on exposure to new ideas