So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

Improving Fund-raising Materials 3 Fund-raising Process 12 Due Diligence Research 3 Deal Flow Sourcing 3 Meetings/Calls with Potential Investors 1 Work with Portfolio Companies 2 Networking/Professional Development 3

“I have this principle about money that overrides my other life rules,” he said. “Do what people are willing to pay for.”

Hardness scares off the daydreamers and the timid, leaving more opportunity for those like us who are willing to take the time to carefully work out the best path forward and then confidently take action.

This is not some philosophical debate on the existence of passion or the value of hard work—I’m being intensely pragmatic: You need to get good in order to get good things in your working life, and the craftsman mindset is focused on achieving exactly this goal.

“When experts exhibit their superior performance in public their behavior looks so effortless and natural that we are tempted to attribute it to special talents,” Ericsson notes. “However, when scientists began measuring the experts’ supposedly superior powers… no general superiority was found.”

“Money is a neutral indicator of value. By aiming to make money, you’re aiming to be valuable.”

Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands…. Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it “deliberate,” as distinct from the mindless playing of scales or hitting of tennis balls that most people engage in.

Irrespective of what type of work you do, the craftsman mindset is crucial for building a career you love.

Don’t obsess over discovering your true calling. Instead, master rare and valuable skills. Once you build up the career capital that these skills generate, invest it wisely. Use it to acquire control over what you do and how you do it, and to identify and act on a life-changing mission. This philosophy is less sexy than the fantasy of dropping ever