So Good They Can't Ignore You Book Review

A few days before Xmas, I found a surprise present in the mail from Anthony (one of this blog's few followers, so HI!) with a book titled "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport. Cal Newport is a comp sci professor at Georgetown/published work-habit guru, and the book revolved around the thesis that Working right trumps the right work. It fits well with the Asian ethic of hard work paving the road to success. After dispelling the "passion hypothesis" (ie, we all have some kind of natural passion that we must follow in order to have a fulfilling work life), he goes on to propose that fulfilling work comes after we have spent enough time to meticulously learn a craft/skill that is "rare and valuable" (for example, coding).

I have always believed that hard work is necessary for true success that I can be proud of. Passion is also important to me, but I can buy the argument that at the entry-level, very few people have true passions, and the ability to learn interesting new things and become really GOOD at them can lead to very passion-filled work life. In a generation where the passion-hypothesis is prevalent, I can see the contrarian lining of his stance. But having been raised in an environment that's always emphasized hard work in lieu of self discovery, I found it less novel than a good reminder of another side of the coin.

What I found interesting was how meticulously Newport treats his "practice" habit and the type of lifestyle he encourages in order to discover the "missions" that can make work fulfilling. For example, he emphasizes tracking and improving upon your own study/work habits (something I don't do) to become a more efficient and effective worker. He is constantly taking "little bets" to explore new opportunities and to gain experience and insight at the same time. He also proposes setting aside time for "deliberate thinking", the type of thinking where you're learning something new and difficult that makes your brain feel uncomfortable and reluctant to continue. It's kind of like exercising and trying to push a little bit past your comfort zone. Like all good advice, when you hear it, it sounds obvious, but still you have a hard time following it (ie: eat more veggies). While making spreadsheets that track all my time is a big step for me, trying to incorporate more "deliberate thinking" can be useful and a good small step forward.

I didn't have much of a new years resolution this year other than continuing a healthy lifestyle, but with "deliberate thinking" I see a very good opportunity to incorporate learning into my new year's resolution. Here's my resolution:

For each month of the year, I will choose a new difficult topic to pursue that can help me become better at my new job. For the month of January, my goal is to review and master Multivariate Statistics. Perhaps, it'll also help to refresh my memory of R and SPSS.