The Book in 3 Sentences
This book argues against the popular phrase that in finding a job, one should “follow their passion”. The author says it is not just wrong advice but also can be harmful to their career paths later on. Instead, he suggests the right approach is to be an expert in the area of interest first so that more power and autonomy are in their hand to engineer the situations where they can do what they want.
Impressions
How Did I Discover It?
As one of my recent hobbies, I was watching Ali Abdaal’s YouTube videos. In one of them (“The 15 Best Books I Read in 2022”) he was reviewing this book, and it caught my interest.
Who Should Read It?
I recommend this book to those:
- who are worried that they cannot find what they want to do for work.
- who have work (they think) they are passionate about.
How the Book Changed Me
- It was relieving to hear that passion is not what you are born with but rather what you grow through hard work. My career so far has been built on my interest, however, I do not see the interest to the extent that it can also be my passion just yet. Before reading this book, I would always ask myself whether there is something more interesting outside I should be doing. Now, I see the question as less meaningful. I am more excited to see what I can do at where I currently am.
- The 10,000-hour rule the author mentions gave me a realistic sense of what it takes to be great at what I do. If I aspire to be a professional writer, I need to invest 10,000 hours in practicing writing. If I keep my full-time job, that is 3 hours/day for 9.1 years or 5 hours/day for 5.5 years. After trying multiple schedules, I have come to a tentative conclusion that 3+ hours after the day work works best for me. It is my goal for 2023 to make this a daily routine.
- Growing up in Tokyo, I usually do not have a positive impression of Japan’s overwork culture where salarymen work to the bone (especially when this makes them mind little about their family). However, if the hours are spent reasonably (on “deliberate practice” as the author describes), I agree that long hours can have a fruitful outcome.
My Top 3 Quotes
- Whereas 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. — p.37
- The 10,000-Hour Rule: The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours. — p.62
- It’s so tempting to just assume what you’ve done is good enough and check it off your to-do list, but it’s in honest, sometimes harsh feedback that you learn where to retrain your focus in order to continue to make progress. — p.72