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?

There are two cures for creator anxiety. The first is to start small (very small) and get into a positive feedback loop: the more you do, the better you feel, and the better you feel the more you'll feel like doing. Example: You want to hone your photography skills? Take some pictures of something, anything, and try simply to make them as weird or whacky as possible. Or, if you want to try your hand at drawing, give yourself a few minuets a day to scribble something, anything, on whatever you have available. Don't make it seem purposeful. Don't keep the scribbles. Just try it out, expect the worst, and eventually you'll find something you like in the scribbles.

The second cure is to read Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You. Newport argues that "follow your passion" is bad advice. Instead, strive only to do your best at whatever you can do or are doing. The better you get, the better your chances will be of shaping the kind of life you want for yourself, and the longer you work at it, the more you'll enjoy what you do——even if at first you didn't.


So, where am I at now on my career-path? Well, I've been working at the greenhouse for nearly a month, and already I'm looking into getting a position as a supervisor. One of my favorite quotes is, "The best place to succeed is where you are with what you have," by Charles Schwab. And, so, I'm trying to succeed where I am before rushing forward into things that align more closely with my "passions". Because, who knows? Maybe horticulture is my thing after all.

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