If any obstacle comes your way, do not get dejected but find a way around it. People who attained excellence in their field of work are those who were fearless and ready for any consequences that might have to face. Auction Market: There is flexibility in the type of capital that you can build. You can create different combinations of skills to emphasize your rareness.

The second control trap warns that once you have enough career capital to acquire more control in your working life, you have become valuable enough to your employer that they will fight your efforts to gain more autonomy.

What did it teach me personally?

The conventional wisdom of “follow your passion” is seriously flawed. If this is bad advice, what should I do instead? You need to get good before you can expect good work. Thus, invest your (extensive) career capital into gaining one of the most important traits of Control (Dream-Job Elixir) over your work: The passion mindset is not just ineffective for creating work you love, in many cases it can work against this goal. This is why the author has dedicated the remainder of rule number three to this goal. Chapter 9: The First Control Trap Cal questions the validity of the Passion Hypothesis which states that the key to vocational happiness is to match your job to your passion.

Cal Newport concludes by showing how he applies the four rules to his own professional life. He loves what he does for a living, and state states that staying committed to these ideas will only deepen that love further. And to accomplish your career goals, let his rules guide you: Just like pursuing a life of control before you have career capital is destined for failure, so is pursuing a mission before you have the relevant career capital to pursue that mission successfully. That means you need to develop relevant, rare and valuable skills to pursue your mission. Mission requires little bets In short, it’s rare that you will be passionate about something from day 1 and forever be interested in that something. Rather, passion is often born out of spending a lot of time in a field and getting good at the skills required to feel autonomous, competent, and connected with the work you’re doing. The dangers of the passion hypothesisCraftsman mindset: Approach to working life in which you focus on the value of what you’re offering to the world. This mindset leads to you figuring out how to offer value that other people appreciate. The reason important discoveries often happen multiple times is that they only become possible once they enter the adjacent possible. Career Capital – the rare and valuable skills within the working world, which is “the key currency for creating work you love” The passion hypothesis is not just wrong, it’s also dangerous. Telling someone to “follow their passion” is not just an act of innocent optimism, but potentially the foundation for a career riddled with confusion and angst.” Cal Newport discusses an interview done by comedian Steve Martin who was asked how to make it in a difficult industry such as comedy. He answered that you should “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” The relentless focus on constantly improving and producing results is known as the Craftsman Mindset:

Explore the best books for expanding your mind, the best self-help books, the best philosophy books for beginners, books for people who don't enjoy reading, and more great books.The deep questions driving the passion mindset: “Who am I?” and “What do I truly love?” are essentially impossible to confirm. Look for Open Gates, which are the few “opportunities to build capital that are already open to you,” which get more career capital at a faster rate.

Let no negativity touch you. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and will aid you to do better. Do your best by putting in your heart and soul. Take yourself to a level, where people are enthralled by your ability. Career passions are rare: most passions are hobby-style interests (e.g., sports and arts) and may have nothing to do with a career.This is the question Cal Newport takes up in the three rules that follow. These rules chronicle his quest to figure out how people really end up loving what they do. Rule #2: Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Or, the Importance of Skill) Chapter 4: The Clarity of the Craftsman