So Good They Can’t Ignore You Book Summary (Plus PDF)

Cal Newport says “Don’t follow your passion, follow your skills.” This is what So Good They Can’t Ignore You is all about, Cal tells you all the myths and how you can do wonders in life by just following your skills.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Summary

If you’re wondering, rahul, I have heard Cal Newport’s name before, that’s because he has written some of the popular books like Deep Work and Digital Minimalism.

In his So Good They Can’t Ignore You, he explains one of the biggest problems faced by the young generation which is “passion”.

The core idea of this book is “Never go after your passion if you don’t have good enough skill”

Let’s say, you read tons of books and now, you feel like writing a book and for that, you want to quit your job.

This is the wrong way to follow your passion.

First of all, you need to ask yourself,

• Whether you’re good at writing?
• Have you ever written anything before?
• I can write a 300-word book.

There are many things that you need to know before you quit your job and work on your writing passion.

This is what Cal wants to say “Don’t just blindly follow your passion because you show someone making a good amount of money”

We will explore more on this, so let’s deep dive into So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport and see why this is a must-read for students.

But before that, as I have promised, here is the free PDF of So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport. So download it now because it’s free. Happy Reading…

Don’t Follow Your Passion Because

• You want to become a YouTuber because you show someone making tons of money.
• You want to become a blogger because you show someone making lots of money by writing.
• You want to write a book because you feel like you can write better than this.
• You want to become a teacher because you feel like it’s a simple thing.

Lots of things that you want to do are all because of money and here is what Cal Newport says about career, “Ask yourself whether you have good enough skills to conquer that field, and if the answer is YES then go ahead with full energy and never look back.”

But you can’t just become a YouTuber if you don’t know how to speak in front of cameras, how to edit videos, how to grow your channel, and much more.

The truth is, being a YouTuber is not only sitting on a chair and saying something. There are lots of things happening behind the scenes that you’re not seeing right now.

So when you feel like you want to follow your passion, just ask one thing and be honest with yourself,

“Do I have the skill, if the answer is YES then also ask yourself whether that skill will make you money or not?”

Whether you want to believe it or not, money is the Key part. So make sure you cross-check the MONEY part.

Now, let’s be optimistic.

You have a skill which is writing, and you even started working on it. One day you get a good job and even write a book, and in the end, you become a successful writer.

What next, 

You Will Feel This When You’re Successful

Let me tell you my story first, 

I always wanted to write and this is what I did back in 2016, I started learning about writing and launched my first website.

BookiesTalk wasn’t my first website.

I have been writing for 7 years and in 2022 I started feeling bored and I wanted to quit blogging but then I read a book called Keep Going by Austin Kleon.

One of the biggest takeaways for me from Keep Going was, “Do something in between, so you don’t feel bored and that’s what I did.

I started making videos and I started enjoying the process of shooting and editing.

That’s exactly what Cal Newport says “If you ever feel your passion as JOB and you feel like quitting, so do one thing, try something else in the background”

It could be anything, you can learn a new language or anything else. Maybe, go play some sort of sport.

Your passion won’t stay your passion forever. So just do something else when you feel like doing a JOB.

Do Wonders Because You Deserve It

If you have skill and if you work on it for years then there will be a day when you will make money and you will live a comfortable life.

But instead of living a comfortable life, do more.

Because you deserve it.

Take the example of Elon Musk, 

When he sold his first company, he had enough money to live a comfortable life but instead of wasting all the money he invested almost all the money into the next startup because he felt he could do more.

So try to take a small risk and that small risk will do wonders for you.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Lessons

• Build good skills that can help you to shape your future.
• Never go after your passion blindly because it can backstab you.
• Plan your work.
• You can’t do wonders in life, if you want to live a comfortable life, you have to take small risks and that risk will do wonders in your life.
• When you feel like your passion has become a Job that you never wanted to do then just reinvent yourself and do something else while doing that JOB because that’s making you money.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Quotes 

“If you want to love what you do, abandon the passion mindset (“what can the world offer me?”) and instead adopt the craftsman mindset (“what can I offer the world?”).”

“No one owes you a great career, it argues; you need to earn it—and the process won’t be easy.”

“If you’re not uncomfortable, then you’re probably stuck at an “acceptable level.”

“The craftsman mindset focuses on what you can offer the world, the passion mindset focuses instead on what the world can offer you. This mindset is how most people approach their working lives.”

“Giving people more control over what they do and how they do it increases their happiness, engagement, and sense of fulfillment.”

“When deciding whether to pursue an appealing pursuit that will introduce more control into your work life, seek evidence of whether people are willing to pay for it. If you find this evidence, continue. If not, move on.”

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Review

So Good They Can’t Ignore You is a must-read if you’re in college or school because Cal simply teaches that you don’t know what is your passion yet, so don’t fall for anything. Do proper research and always follow your skills because that will take you to the next destination.

I’m hoping that Cal Newport will change your mindset and guide you toward your goal.

Also, let me know what kind of skills you have and which skill you want to monetize. 

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