12 Cal Newport Quotes from ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’

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Excerpt: Follow your passion is bad advice. Read these powerful Cal Newport quotes from ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ and find out why…

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Introduction: To search or to build—that is the question

Here’s one of the keys to getting ahead in life: spend less time “searching for your passion” and spend more time building valuable skills.

The more time you spend searching for something that “pulls you” or that will make working “easy,” the less time you’ll be able to spend building skills of value. The kind of skills that make you better at doing in-demand work, that lead you to interesting challenges/ opportunities, that better equip you to do what most others can’t.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t search for something that aligns with your capabilities, aptitudes, and potential.  I do believe when you search you find.  However, this should not be the sole occupation of your time.  If you can’t find a passion that “speaks” to you and everything you’ve tried feels “luke warm,” then just pick something!

All things being equal (as far as emotional appeal goes), choose to learn about work that’s going to give you the most valuable skill set.  Or choose work that you have unique opportunities to learn based on your connections, location, and/or situation.  Just, pick!

Choosing not to work and not to build skills because you’re busy “searching” for your passion is nothing but an excuse.  And it’s an excuse that can take away precious time that could otherwise be invested.

And let’s be clear about one other thing: your “passion” won’t come looking for you.  So you can drop that notion now.  You have to engage with the world, experiment, and use trial-and-error to find your way forward—not passively scan the classifieds or hope a sign pops up somewhere in your neighborhood with the opportunity of your lifetime.

What’s interesting is that when you become better at doing whatever work you decide on (with deliberate practice and patience), you’ll probably start to like it more.  It makes sense right?  We tend to like what we’re good at—at least a lot more than what we’re bad at.

And so when you pick what to pursue, whether for a particular reason or at random, you’ll find that the more you dedicate yourself to the work, the better you’ll get, and the more you’ll like doing it. You’ll start a positive upward cycle that could very well lead you to your life’s work.

Below, you’ll find our list of quotes from So Good They Can’t Ignore You that will inspire you to ditch the “passion” mindset and focus on the “craftsman (skill-building)” mindset instead. Because according to Cal Newport, on the quest to find work that you love, skills trump passion—not the other way around.

So, take a quick glance at our 12 favorite quotes from So Good They Can’t Ignore You and become exactly that—a person who can’t be ignored because you’ve gotten so good at whatever it is you’ve decided to do. Or, keep arbitrarily searching for some passion that’s so good you can’t ignore it. But, good luck trying to differentiate yourself from the others who can’t ignore that passion opportunity either.

You see, waiting for anything to come to you—a passion, a prize, an opportunity, a lucky break, a gift from God—is to shed yourself of the very power you could use to get ahead. The power to decide, to act, to experiment, to take control, to accept responsibility, to learn, to grow, and to build skills that can’t be ignored. So, what’d you say? Let’s get to work.

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The List: 12 Cal Newport Quotes from So Good They Can’t Ignore You

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“Why do some people enjoy their work while so many other people don’t? Here’s the CliffsNotes summary of the social science research in this area: There are many complex reasons for workplace satisfaction, but the reductive notion of matching your job to a pre-existing passion is not among them.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 14)

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

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You

“Put aside the question of whether your job is your true passion, and instead turn your focus toward becoming so good they can’t ignore you. That is, regardless of what you do for a living, approach your work like a true performer.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 39)

“If you want something that’s both rare and valuable, you need something rare and valuable to offer in return—this is Supply and Demand 101. If follows that if you want a great job, you need something of great value to offer in return.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 44)

“If you want to love what you do, abandon the passion mindset (‘what can the world offer me?’) and instead adopt the craftsman mindset (‘what can I offer the world?’).”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You

“Don’t obsess over discovering your true calling. Instead, master rare and valuable skills. Once you build up the career capitol that these skills generate, invest it wisely. Use it to acquire control over what you do and how you do it, and identify and act on a life-changing mission. This philosophy is less sexy than the fantasy of dropping everything to go live among the monks in the mountains, but it’s also a philosophy that has been shown time and again to actually work.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 230)

“The happiest, most passionate employees are not those who followed their passion into a position, but instead those who have been around long enough to become good at what they do. On reflection, this makes sense. If you have many years’ experience, then you’ve had time to get better at what you do and develop a feeling of efficacy. It also gives you time to develop strong relationships with your coworkers and to see many examples of your work benefiting others. What’s important here, however, is that this explanation, though reasonable, contradicts the passion hypothesis, which instead emphasizes the immediate happiness that comes from matching your job to a true passion.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 17)

“If your goal is to love what you do, you must first build up ‘career capital’ by mastering rare and valuable skills, and then cash in this capital for the traits that define great work.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You

“Working right trumps finding the right work. He didn’t need to have a perfect job to find occupational happiness—he needed instead a better approach to the work already available to him.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 228)

“People who feel like their careers truly matter are more satisfied with their working lives, and they’re also more resistant to the strain of hard work. Staying up late to save your corporate litigation client a few extra million dollars can be draining, but staying up late to help cure an ancient disease can leave you more energized than when you started—perhaps even providing the extra enthusiasm needed to start a lab volleyball team or tour with a rock band.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 152)

“The more you try to force it, I learned, the less likely you are to succeed. True missions, it turns out, require two things. First you need career capital, which requires patience. Second, you need to be ceaselessly scanning your always-changing view of the adjacent possible in your field, looking for the next big idea. This requires a dedication to brainstorming and exposure to new ideas. Combined, these two commitments describe a lifestyle, not a series of steps that automatically spit out a mission when completed.”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You

“Don’t follow your passion; rather, let it follow you in your quest to become, in the words of my favorite Steve Martin quote, ‘so good that they can’t ignore you.’”

Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page xx)

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If you enjoyed these quotes from So Good They Can’t Ignore You then you should consider reading Cal Newport’s book in full. It comes warmly recommended: