Book Reading : So Good They Can't Ignore You

 Who doesn't want to be good. I want to be good and succeed in my career. Thus when I saw this book by Cal Newport in my office library, I had to pick it up.

Book starts with Steve Job's famous speech at Stanford, and advises its readers to 

Do what Steve Jobs did, not what he said.

As per author, following one's passion might just be terrible advice. Following passion means that we know from the begining what we love. But people change with situation and so does passion. 

Further it takes time to get good at anything. You have to force yourself to do the work, learn the skill.

Those who are looking for a high paying or highly satisfying job offer, need to have something called Career Capital (the skills which you are offering). Author argues that you need to build this capital over time and you will have to start with something less glamorous. But you will keep working and keep polishing your skill.

Anyone who wants to excel, will have to practice a lot. And in each iteration of practice, it has to be different and pulling out of comfortzone. Then only it will be effective.

Author asks you to put small bets continually. A definition of small bet is as follows

• It is a project small enough to be completed in less than a month
• It forces you to create new value (e.g. master a new skill and produce new results that didn't exist before)
• It produces a concrete result that you can use to gather concrete feedback

In summary, we have to continually hone our skill, do something which others will value, find a mission which compells us to do more and continually innovate or strain for excellence. It is a tough job no doubt, but brave individuals will reap the reward.