So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport - The book that will make your dreams a reality
Cal Newport cured me. He cured me of doubt, fear and self-loathing. But, mostly, fear. I read this book just before I started my first job (at a greenhouse as a greenhouse-laborer). It was a tumultuous time for me. I wondered whether I'd like the work or if my tiny, skinny self could even do the work. I wondered if I'd somehow get stuck in the horticulture business instead of studying computer science like I wanted to. I was confused and swinging back-and-forth between having confidence in myself to outright hating the path that lay before me. I mean, I didn't even like plants! I was also suffering——and had been for some time——from what I call "creator anxiety". Creator anxiety is where you agonize over not being a creator and/or not acting on your ideas and/or not improving your life. What if I don't become successful? I kept asking myself. What if I don't live an interesting enough life? What if I don't leave behind a legacy of some sort?