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March 27 - April 18, 2021
Their satisfaction doesn’t come from the details of their work but instead from a set of important lifestyle traits they’ve gained in their career.
To build a career, the right question is not “What job am I passionate about doing?” but instead “What way of working and living will nurture my passion?”
That's true. Totally agreed.
Basic economics tells us that if you want something rare and valuable, you need to offer something rare and valuable in return—and in the working world, what you have to offer are your skills.
But following your passion—choosing a career path solely because you are already passionate about the nature of the work—is a poor strategy for accomplishing this goal.
don’t follow your passion, cultivate it.
Technology companies often keep the “beta” label on software for a time after the official launch to stress that the product is not finished so much as ready for the next batch of improvements. Gmail, for example, launched in 2004 but only left official beta in 2009, after millions of people were already using it.
Finished ought to be an f-word for all of us. We are all works in progress. Each day presents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more, and grow more.
“In which ways am I better and different from other people who do similar work?”
be identifying how your combination of assets (skills, strengths, contacts) and aspirations (dreams, values, interests) can create a unique offering in the career marketplace.
the most important skill in the age of flux is the ability to get new skills.
“The moment you move to protecting the status quo instead of disrupting the status quo, you put yourself at risk.”
understanding the point at which you are protecting what you know and defending what you know, instead of looking at what else you can learn and how you can grow.
Rather than setting your sights on a specific role, focus instead on what you want to accomplish. Ask yourself: “What problem am I solving? What do I want to create? What do I want to change?”
“We’re not good at everything; we’re not good by ourselves.”
If you want a new challenge at work or more responsibility, it’s on you to pitch your boss or your client on what needs to be done, why it’s a good idea, why you’re the best person to do it, and why everyone will benefit.
In short, lucky people are open-minded, upbeat, proactive, and always willing to try something new.
There are two types of work in this world. The first is the obligatory kind, the work we do because of a job or a contract, often with an eye on the clock. The second—very different—type of work we do is “work with intention.”
Aside from lots of hard work, great creative careers are powered by an intersection of three factors: interest, skill, and opportunity.
Always have a Plan A, B, and even Z in your back pocket.
If you’re getting too comfortable in your current position, it’s probably time to challenge yourself in new ways.
So the next time you find yourself thinking, “But I’m just not good at this,” remember: you’re just not good at it yet.
Ericsson subsequently posited that four and a half hours is the natural human limit for the highest level of focus on a single task in any given day.
If we spend energy when we wake up deciding what to wear that day, or completing a difficult task in the morning, or resisting a chocolate chip cookie following lunch, we’re left with less energy to complete any subsequent task.
You can’t get better on autopilot.
The way to get better at a skill is to force yourself to practice just beyond your limits.
On the days when these professionals saw themselves moving forward on something they cared about—even if the progress was a seemingly incremental “small win”—they were more likely to be happy and deeply engaged in their work. And, being happier and more deeply engaged, they were more likely to come up with new ideas and solve problems creatively. That’s why Weston was so elated to note that “my technique matched my vision.”
But our research suggests that it can be particularly useful to reflect and write on any of the following: Progress, even a small step forward, in work you care about Anyone or anything that helped or hindered your progress Goals and plans, especially a plan for making progress tomorrow Issues or “to-dos” that may be causing you stress as they swirl through your mind Anything that brought you joy or pleasure, even if it lasted only a moment
Focus on one short-term action—something you can do the next day—and one longer-term action—something you can do in the next month.
Are you taking best advantage of the help that others can offer, and, more important, are you offering to others all the help you are capable of providing?
Keep your “hand in,” even if you move into a management role. Doing this will have several benefits: (1) on a personal level, you’ll derive satisfaction from doing the work yourself, (2) it will deepen your understanding of the challenges faced by your team, and (3) since most creatives make judgments based on talent and achievement, you’ll maintain the respect of your team.
the more we fear failure, the less we succeed.
Equally surprising, the happiness of accident victims returned to levels above neutral, and a recent study out of Harvard found that paralyzed individuals were no less happy than lottery winners over time.15 How did this happen?
Whether it’s failing an exam, flunking an interview, or getting fired from a job, their studies have shown that people consistently overestimate the negative impact of such events.18 And since we expect such failures to be more painful and drawn out than they actually are, we fear them more than we should.
In short, we underestimate our resilience.
Ultimately, we serve ourselves better by fearing a failure to act more than fearing failure itself.
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Rather than trying to protect ourselves by avoiding decisions, then, wouldn’t it be better to embrace the risks we take—and drive the outcome we desire?
the key to success is not dodging every bullet but being able to recover quickly.
risk-taking isn’t uniform.
The enemy of creation is not uncertainty, it’s inertia.
If we look at the most successful innovators throughout history, we find that they have all been stunningly productive. They keep trying over and over again.
Just make sure you don’t go all in before you’ve figured out that it works.
