So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport
by Željko Filipin
Introduction
Cal Newport is one of my favorite authors. I have read almost all of his books. Some of them several times. I also really like his podcast Deep Questions.
I have read this book at least two times. I have read it in late 2022 as an audio book and in early 2025 as an ebook.
2025 was really busy. I wanted to write a review of the book earlier. I usually have the time to write one blog post every month. So, this book never made it to the short list. Until now.
The Book
The book has four sections. Each section has several chapters. Each section discusses one rule.
- Rule #1: Don’t Follow Your Passion
- Rule #2: Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Or, the Importance of Skill)
- Rule #3: Turn Down a Promotion (Or, the Importance of Control)
- Rule #4: Think Small, Act Big (Or, the Importance of Mission)
Popular Highlights
This Kindle feature fascinates me. What have other people highlighted? It’s probably important.
Introduction
In other words, you need to be good at something before you can expect a good job. (4k+ highlighters.)
Chapter Two: Passion is Rare
Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion. (Page 13. 4k+ highlighters)
Autonomy: the feeling that you have control over your day, and that your actions are important Competence: the feeling that you are good at what you do Relatedness: the feeling of connection to other people (Page 18. 5k+ highlighters.)
Chapter Three: Passion is Dangerous
The more we focused on loving what we do, the less we ended up loving it. (Page 23. 3k+ highlighters.)
Chapter Five: The Power of Career Capital
You need to get good in order to get good things in your working life, and the craftsman mindset is focused on achieving exactly this goal. (Page 49. 4k+ highlighters.)
Chapter Seven: Becoming a Craftsman
It is a lifetime accumulation of deliberate practice that again and again ends up explaining excellence. (Page 84. 4k+ highlighters.)
Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands.… Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it “deliberate,” as distinct from the mindless playing of scales or hitting of tennis balls that most people engage in. (Page 96. 3k+ highlighters.)
Chapter Eight: The Dream-Job Elixir
Giving people more control over what they do and how they do it increases their happiness, engagement, and sense of fulfillment. (Page 113. 4k+ highlighters.)
To summarize, if your goal is to love what you do, your first step is to acquire career capital. Your next step is to invest this capital in the traits that define great work. Control is one of the most important targets you can choose for this investment. (Page 114, 3k+ highlighters.)
Chapter Twelve: The Meaningful Life of Pardis Sabeti
Hardness scares off the daydreamers and the timid, leaving more opportunity for those like us who are willing to take the time to carefully work out the best path forward and then confidently take action. (Page 154. 3k+ highlighters.)
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tags: book - photo - productivity