To get full credit for this assignment, you must do the following:
1. Leave four separate takeaways, responses, or connections to things you read from Rule #1.
2. Then leave four responses to the takeaways, responses, or connections from your classmates.
I'll get the ball rolling with my four responses.
Let's see if this works. My first response is to what happened to Thomas in the introduction. He followed his passion, to be a monk, but when he finally achieved his dream or passion, it didn't fulfill him.
ReplyDeleteI think this is one reason people react negatively to the phrase, "Follow your passion." There are just so many ways it can go wrong. Consider this - are passions life long? When I was your age, I was passionate about the rock band (don't judge) Def Leppard. But that passion has faded. When I was also young, I was very passionate about the sports I played (football and baseball), yet those passions have cooled too.
So how do we know that a passion will stay with us for the rest of our lives? We don't. And that makes simply following your passion dangerous.
Another way following your passion can go wrong with there might not be a job or need for your passion. What then are you to do? Live off of it as a hobby? I think this leads many to be disillusioned as well.
This quote from Ch. 2 resonated with me because it's so true: “The key thing is to force yourself through the work, force the skills to come; that’s the hardest phase" (Newport, 2012, p. 12).
ReplyDeleteWhen Mr. Zutz used to talk to my classes about this book, he always showed this picture of a musician with the line - "Can I just skip to the part where I'm awesome?" Of course, you can't do that. You have to put all the hardwork in FIRST in order to be awesome.
This, as you well know, will tie in to Malcolm Gladwell's concept of 10,000 hours. Now, don't panic if you have no idea what to focus on or work hard on. That's why internships, college, and the work force are for. All of those things will - I hope - present you with chances to discover new skills or develop old ones. Then after that, that is when you work hard to develop those skills.
This is the most important piece of information I can give students right now. You have to work. The skills don't come through staring at our phones, watching fail videos on Youtube, or binging series on Netflix (I did all of those things over the weekend). The real skills come by focusing on working on one skill. Luckily, I did some writing over the weekend too. So it wasn't a total waste. I did become better because of that.
Molly Halsa
DeleteI agree with what you are saying. There is a very large chance that you will not enjoy your job at first but you kind of have to go through the motions for a while. Sooner or later you will figure out if you truly do hate it or if you end up loving it. It all just takes time.
Molly,
DeleteThis reminds me of what Dave Doherty told my class a few years ago - and you could hear an audible sigh of relief from every single senior - he said, "Don't worry about making the right decision. Instead, make a decision and then work really hard to make it the right decision."
Don't worry about loving it so much on the front end. My stepson earned a degree in massage therapy. He and his fiance opened a place in South Dakota, but they quit it after two months. They weren't getting many customers (Casey, my stepson, realized that many people in their town - especially males - thought it was odd to get a massage from another male - so they didn't come in).
I couldn't believe they were giving up so soon! Now, message therapy wasn't Casey's "passion." He initially began with video game design, but quit. Then his "passion" was history. But he quit school again.
He did complete this massage therapy degree/licensure, but he wasn't committed too it (willing to work really hard as a small business owner), and he quit.
All of these things drive home the point that the beginning of any job is rough and difficult. Newport argues if you focus on your skills (and developing those skills with the Craftman Mindset), then you stand a better chance of making an informed decision and then having the skills to work hard to make it the right decision.
My third take away comes from the summary at the end of Ch. 2 - "Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion" (Newport, 2012, p. 13).
ReplyDeleteI'll illustrate what I mean by this via an example - The Incredible Dr. Pol. This is a TV series that is one of our favorites. It's on the Nat Geo channel and follows the vet Dr. Pol who owns a very busy (and successful) animal hospita in Michigan. On a single episode he will work on a cat that was shot with an arrow (it literally had an arrow sticking out of its head), he worked on a horse that had an abscess that had broken through the skin on its jaw), one of his vets helped a pig deliver, another vet checked up on 9 St. Bernard puppies, and Dr. Pol had to sever the leg of a dog.
Dr. Pol is amazing at his job. He is a natural with animals and can take one look at an animal and diagnose what is wrong with it in seconds (when an animal has an arrow through its head, it's an easy diagnosis, but when he can look at a horse and know that it was kicked and that's why its leg is swollen and won't stand up is amazing).
In every aspect, Dr. Pol, who is in his 70's, is so good he can't be ignored. I mean there are a lot of vets, but he is the only one with a freaking TV crew following him around. He is successful and is amazing at his job.
But it wasn't always that way. And that's the tie back to the quote from Newport's book. His career was complex. First, he came to America as a foreign exchange student in 1961. Nine years later, he earned his degree as a vet (which involves 7-9 years of schooling). Then he worked for a decade for another vet. Only in 1981 (20 years after coming to America), did Dr. Pol open his own practice.
So he put 20 years of work in (7-9 in college) and then a decade honing his skills for another vet before he was able to having a compelling career with his own animal hospital.
This is the rule rather than the exception when it comes to people with compelling careers. They didn't just 'follow their passions.' Instead, they found a skill and worked really hard to develop that skill. THEN the passion developed.
My final take away comes from Ch. 3 - "The more I studied the issue, the more I noticed that the passion hypothesis convinces people that somewhere there’s a magic 'right' job waiting for them, and that if they find it, they’ll immediately recognize that this is the work they were meant to do. The problem, of course, is when they fail to find this certainty, bad things follow, such as chronic job-hopping and crippling self-doubt" (Newport,2012, P.22).
ReplyDeleteThis is another piece of gold for you. There is no 'right' job out there for anyone. Seriously, I love my job. But remember, I applied at UPS (and would have taken the job in a nanosecond) during my first year of teaching. I hated it that much. Now - after getting my 10,000 hours in and developing some skills - I have the greatest job in the world. Seriously, it's 8:56 and I'm doing one of my own assignments! That's how much I love what we are doing.
But it wasn't always that way. So don't think that there is this 'dream' job out there for you. In fact, many of your jobs don't even exist yet. So how can you find a 'dream' job for you? Moreover, the person you are now, is not - hopefully - the person you are going to be when you're 25 and entering the workforce. So your interests, knowledge, and ideas will all change (again, hopefully).
So don't limit yourself by thinking there has to be one 'right' job out there for you. Instead, work to develop skills that are applicable to several other fields or jobs.
When I first began teaching, I struggled with public speaking. But over the years, I developed a love for it. I got better at it the more I worked on it. The more I worked on it, the better I became, and the more I enjoyed it. Now, if I had to change careers and found a public speaking job, I would take it in a second. But that was the opposite of what I would have done when I started here.
That's how most careers develop and grow.
ReplyDeleteWill Johnson
ReplyDeleteMy first take away is that I didn't realize how many people were actually unsatisfied with a job when they followed their passion.
I thought following your passion would be the best thing a person could do, but no now this book has totally thrown that away. I feel that if someone has a passion for something they shouldn't let a job ruin that passion for them. Maybe finding something related to it would be the best. I'll use my dad as an example. He didn't want to become a teacher he wanted to coach. Teaching was his best option for a career if he wanted to coach. So he became a teacher. I think this is a much better approach then diving head first into your passion. Your passion will be soiled if you do this, and you will no longer have the same fire for that passion that you had in the past. You can find a related job, build up there and maybe even have your job as a passion too.
Good example with your dad. Times have changed some (and it's one reason it's so hard to find coaches today), but the only way to coach was to become a teacher. I know several other people at LHS who only became teachers so they could coach. And something remarkable happened along the way, they also developed a love for teaching since they worked hard and had so much experience.
DeleteWill My next take away is from the first sentence in the introduction. "Follow your passion' is dangerous advice." (Newport, 2012, p. ix)
ReplyDeleteNewports example for this, Thomas, really shows how this can be bad. Thomas realized that he wanted to become a monk. So he set off to become a monk. He did all the training, the meditation, the silence. HE finally achieved his passion, but at a cost. Thomas no longer had the same passion for becoming a monk, even though he has now done it.
Follow your passion is a very misguiding statement. If I were to follow my passion I would be fishing, but I don't think that is going to happen. I don't think that I could follow my passion and live the rest of my life happy. But I could find something different. Maybe related to it. This is the best option for me I believe. Because I don't want to blindly follow. my passion into the abyss of nothingness, that would just be crazy.
Well done. You may have a passion that is a lifelong hobby. Or you may work as a fishing instructor or guide and find that it's rewarding and you're willing to make a career out of it. But then maybe you want to think about taking business classes to open up your own business taking other fishing or even buying land and having others come in to fish on it.
DeleteThis kind of reminds me of Nick Hoffard. He had a vast passion for baseball, which he played in college, but he also had a love for hunting. He earned a degree in wildlife management (I believe) that allowed him to play baseball while in college but then that passion had to die and his other passion became stronger.
When he stopped by to visit me last year, he was living the dream. He graduated and got a job working for a group of very wealthy men who own land in Washington. Nick works to preserve the wildlife there so the men can hunt as they wish.
He impressed one guy so much that the man (a retired NFL player) is thinking of buying his own huge chunk of land in Texas and having Nick come and run it for him, which would be a major step up for him.
He earned a degree and then worked to develop his skills.
Will Johnson
ReplyDeleteMy third take away also comes from the introduction. "Thomas, who after his dispiriting realization at the monastery was able to return to his first principles, move his focus away from finding the right work and toward working right." (Newport, 2012, p. xxi)
What does he mean by working right? Well this is where the book really begins. Newport is going to relate this to the title of the book, "So Good They Can't Ignore You" (Couldn't Italicize). This is the best thing you can do. Eventually people will find a passion for a job that they have done for a while because they will be really good at it. This applies to all people. I am going to use Mr. Reynolds as an example. He said he hated his first year of teaching. Now look at him, his favorite day is Monday. He misses all of us during this time. He developed a passion for his job, and it is because he is really good at it now. All of us can be like Mr. Reynolds if we out in the time and don't give up.
Will, this is an important quote. If we were in class, we could spent 20 minutes just on this. I'll respond with this - too often schools produce kids who thing the right job is out there somewhere; they just have to find it. Unfortunately, this leads them back home after college where they live at home in the basement. We want to avoid that.
DeleteInstead, if you focus on 'working right,' you focus on finding a job that will open some doors for you and allow you to develop new skills. If you do that enough, who knows where you will end up and how valuable you will be.
I'll give an example - I did hate teaching for most of my first year. Then I changed things up. I began to become a student of my teaching (and you'd be surprised how many young teachers never understand this). I saw that when I made kids take notes, they didn't care about the notes so much as my stories and jokes. So I worked very hard to craft my notes and lectures to include jokes and stories related to our content. Doing that for a couple of years allowed me to win more students over. The more kids started to enjoy my classes and how I treated them, the more I loved my job. That wasn't a skill I could learn in college. I had to teach it to myself. So in that way I was "working right" in that I was a student.
If I lost my job tomorrow, I know that wherever I landed, I would be a success because I know how to learn.
I think it all boils down to this, and this is something Mr. Doherty told my class when he talked to them: Don't worry about making the right decision (or finding the right career or profession). Instead, make a decision and work really hard to make that the right decision."
He talked about how he went to college to be an engineer. After graduating and working, he realized he liked managing others and working to help coach others more than the engineering side of things. So he took classes and "worked right" on those skills to become better. That led him to work his way up in several other companies before taking a chance and coming to TRF as part of Digi Key.
He didn't graduate high school and think, "I want to be president of a mutli-billion dollar company one day." He simply "worked right" and over time, it happened.
Will Johnson
ReplyDeleteMy final take away is from chapter 2. "Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion" (Newport, 2012, p. 13). (I am going to do an animal related one like Mr. Reynolds)
Jeremy Wade is the host of the TV show River Monsters.Jeremy is the best at his job decrypting murder scenes by fish. He knows a ridiculous amount of fish species and can name everyone that he catches. No one has a passion like he does. Wade has been fishing his whole life, and has a degree in zoology, and also a degree in teaching biological sciences. Wade is so good at his job nobody can ignore him because he is the best at what he does. He can analyze scenes, take in information from blown up stories by witnesses. Take it all find out the culprit and get it. He didn't have this skill Wade had to work for it. He finally got a crack at filming his TV show after relentless tries to get going.
Although all of my other examples were to not follow your passion, this was an exception. He followed his passion, but he worked very hard at it to develop the skills that he obtained throughout his life.
This is a great example. I think Mr. Wade (like a few of us) make up the 2% of people who follow their passion and have it all work out for them.
DeleteTia p
ReplyDeleteMy first take away was from the introduction, Thomas wanted to join a monastery. He was on his way to becoming a monk in the Zen Mountain Monastery. He had followed his passion to the monastery, and he loved it. As he had been there for a year he was realizing that the whole monk thing was not for him and that he wanted to go back home.
This is a great example of why you should try out your "passion" ahead of time instead of running right to it. Obviously he had a great time for the most part and it did impact the rest of his life and gave him a different perspective, but he just wasted a whole year of his life on something he could've tried and saw he didn't like it as much as he thought.
This is also a good example of a hobby that he could've had while having a stable job. It's good for people to have hobbies and have stuff they can do before or after work to have enjoy themselves.
This is where following your passion is dangerous. He didn't know he wasn't going to like it and thats where it goes wrong for people. They could have payments which don't get payed if they do something like this where there is no pay. its hard to judge what you will be doing for the rest of your life, but mind as well try it before you have bills and taxes and stuff to pay for.
Tia,
DeleteThis is a good point. My nephew, Matt, went to college and earned a computer tech degree. He landed a very good job at Digi Key. He was set for life.
However, he felt he wasn't "following his passion." He had a calling to become a priest. So he thought long and hard over it, saved up as much money as he could (what often happens to people who just follow their passions is that the world won't pay them for their passions and they go broke and end up living at home with their parents).
Then he quit at DK and enrolled at Saint Meinrad Seminary School of Theology in Indiana. He attended for six years. He said that one thing they do there is TRY TO GET YOU TO QUIT. or try to CONVINCE YOU THAT BEING A PRIEST ISN'T FOR YOU.
They do this because they want to know you are truly invested - or that it's not just your passion but your calling or mission in life.
In other words, they are trying to weed the Thomas out.
Madelynn Dakken
ReplyDeleteMy comments will more than likely be a bit hard for you to read because of my attitude towards this book but I am going to start by telling you my first thought whenever I read any of his chapters. "I do not agree with you and you are not making me want to". I find his writing style a little weird, he starts off the first chapter by explaining to us why he thinks following your passion is wrong and from that moment on he acts as if he has convinced us and treats us as if we agree with him, where’s I do not. I feel his points are not strong enough to for him to make his point that following your passions is wrong to someone who firmly believes that they are going to follow their passions. Whenever he does make good points I feel as though he does not spend enough time talking about them. Long story short I do not like the way he wrote this book and believe he should have allowed more time for the reader to flow with his ideas.
Khloe
DeleteI agree when you say he makes good points he does not go into strong enough detail. It could just be me but I feel like he just repeats himself a lot around they same concept and has not got into good depth with it. Maybe further on in the book he will I don't know I just hope it gets better.
Madelynn,
DeleteYou are certainly free to dislike the book. One of my favorite quotes is "If everyone thinks alike, then someone isn't thinking." For example, right now in CC we are finishing The Element, and all but two students HATE it.
This is fine. I once couldn't imagine not teaching Shakespeare, now - God willing - I would never teach him again nor do I think any high school kid needs to be subjected to him. I know if I spend time with Mr. Mattison, she would have the opposite opinion, but we all can agree to disagree.
Some clarification about the don't follow your passion concept (and had class not been cancelled we could have spent a few days covering this - so I am so for not doing that adequately) - The "follow your passion" concept was unknown to American culture up until about the rise of Gen X (with the publication of "What Color is Your Parachute"). Prior to then most Americans just got a job that paid the bills and had nothing to do with their personal lives or passions. My dad drove truck for 5 days a week. It had nothing to do with his passion or his life. It was just a J-O-B. He lives for being home after work and the weekends. Sara Pederson when she spoke to class noted how her father did the same thing when he worked for the REA in RLF. It allowed him to be home more with his family, have a hobby farm, and it had great retirement.
Today, we see few people who are willing to just get a J-O-B. Instead (and rightfully so), they want important and meaningful careers. And that is the reason I bombard kids with The Element, Outliers, and SGTCIY because I want students to be diligent about choosing and developing skills for those careers.
Newport has said in interviews that he isn't anti-passion at all. What he seeks to illustrate is that passion/work you love is a byproduct of being really good at a skill that you then build a career around.
Khloe,
DeleteIn Ch. 5 "The Power of Career Capital," Newport will use two case studies to support his claim about passion. He will offer Joe Duffy, a MN advertising executive, who also loves horses and wants a hobby farm. He doesn't just quit his job and 'follow his passion.' Instead, he leverages his current skills more and more to build his passion into more than just a hobby.
Then Newport contrasts that with Lisa Feuer, who had a successful career in advertising and marketing, but quit it to follow her passion as a yoga instructor . . . it was a disaster for her.
He uses several other case studies to illustrate his points later for this too.
One of my personal favorite examples is my nieces husband, Tate Sorvig. He earned a four year degree and worked for his father's business. However, his true passion was to open his own gym. And he did just that because that was his passion. BUT he was smart enough to also keep working for his father until his cross-fit business was lucrative enough to sustain itself. Then he quit his other job to follow his passion. And he's incredibly successful doing that.
Jadeann
DeleteMadelynn I agree with you that his writing is not the best to convince you at all that passion is dangerous. I think he makes you think that it can be but not that it is which is what. he needs to convince us of for this book.
My next take away is in chapter one. "Jobs offered the following advice: You've got to find what you love... the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle.
ReplyDeleteI find this a bit weird since he didn't really follow his own passion. I find it super annoying when teachers always tell us to follow and persue what were good at and like doing when they are being hypocrites and hate their own jobs, but in reality that it what position most people are in. They hate their jobs, but do it just to pay the bills.
This could be a good thing to do also because if you have a job you don't particularly like you can do you own hobbies and passions after you get home and still be happy.
Khloe
DeleteNever thought about some teachers being hypocrites but you're right especially when you know they hate coming to their job everyday. It also is not fun to have someone hate their job and you have to work with them it's not good for the students, staff or whatever facility you work at.
Tia and Khloe,
DeleteThere is a quote that I love - "Find a job you'll love, and you'll never work a day in your life."
Now Newport would have issue with that - for he believes one must work incredibly hard to have a job you love. BUT, and I'm harkening back to The Element here - when you love/have passion for (or as Newport would argue, have great skills) for what you do - then it's not really work at all.
Think of Jordan Tice from Ch. 4. He loves and is passionate about playing the guitar. In every sense he is 'following his passion.' BUT he also is playing to his strengths. He works incredibly hard at mastering difficult pieces. But because he loves it, he enjoys the hard work.
For my money, this is the message we need to send to kids in high school. The best way to do that is to put them into job shadowing/internships and so on where they see just how hard people who are great at what they do really work.
And you guys touch upon a real problem in education (and the work force at large) - people who dislike what they do (and remember, studies show that about 80% of Americans dislike their jobs or at least their work place atmosphere).
Noah Rupprecht
DeleteThis was all so interesting, but you made a great point. The percentage of people satisfied with their job has been decreasing throughout the years. People tend to just follow the money like Steve Jobs, but he just mastered what he was doing and developed a passion for it.
Molly Halsa
DeleteI too agree that teachers push us to find a job when they hate thiers. Like Noah said people are getting less and less happy with the jobs they are doing. They are just doing it because that is what they started out doing realized they hated it but needed to pay the bills so they just suffer at a job they hate.
Jadeann
DeleteThe teacher thing is one of the truest things I have ever heard. Although the staff is pretty good there are a few where you can tell that they don't even like kids, like why get a job when you don't even like kids.
My third take away was in chapter 2 when Pink talks about the self-determination theory and the main things needed to motivated for work.
ReplyDeleteAutonomy: the feeling that you have control of your day, and that your actions are important. This is important for everyone to feel during their work day so they keep on working and feel that they're doing something important.
Competence: The feeling that you are good at what you do. If you don't feel like you're good at your job work whatever you're working at you get demotivated and want to quit working on it or stop. I know how this feels and if you think you're doing crappy you just want to quit and go home. This I think is very important also.
Relatedness: the feeling of connection to other people. who wouldn't want to have a friend at work to talk to everyday. You need some sort of relationship with co workers to get along and work well together.
All of these feelings I think you should be having at work, at school, at home, or wherever you're going. It makes you feel more motivated to do things and helps you get through stuff.
Madelynn
DeleteI feel like these three factors are why so many kids do not do well in school or do not try. Let me explain. Autonomy: the feeling that you have control of your day, and that your actions are important. Most kids do not feel in control of their day because they have no say in what they are learning and they have to be somewhere specific at a specific time all of the time. They also do not feel like their actions are important because homework is usually not graded very highly. Kids learn that they can not do their homework and still pass the class so doing it becomes less important. Other kids firmly believe that they are not going to college so they believe there is no point in trying hard. Competence: The feeling that you are good at what you do. As sad as it is there are some teachers that put their students down, intentionally or unintentionally. Because of this, they will not try to succeed because they feel that even if they do it will not matter. Even kids who just fail a few tests can start to get overwhelmed and begin to feel as if they will always fail. Relatedness: the feeling of connection to other people. There are so many kids at school that early have any friends, some even have none at all. Some are bullied. This all makes them feel left out and isolated as well as unimportant. You need friends and other people in your corner to survive and some people just don’t have that.
Tia and Madelynn,
DeleteGreat responses. Autonomy is almost totally missing from high school. Well, not now. And I'm hoping that this new experiment in 'distance learning' is really going to transform education. It's sad that teachers put kids down. I think this is something you should share with Mr. Brekke and Mrs. Weets. Information like this is the only way teachers can get better. I think students need to be built up and learn what they are really good at. Finally, relatedness. This is why organizations and activities are so vital.
Thanks for these points and your honesty.
My last take away is from chapter 3. People who do follow their passion and love it tell everyone to always follow your passion, but just because it worked for them doesn't mean it works for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of people who find their passion and roll with it their whole life. They are always telling their story to people and telling them to do the same thing when they are in the smallest percentage of people who actually like their job. Not many people who follow their passion into a career like it after a while. Its good for people to find a hobby that they like so they can do it but doing that for your whole life gets boring and would make you hate it. It's also hard to know if you were to like a job that is your passion.
So when wanted to follow your passion make sure that you have tried it out before hand for a while so you aren't wasting your time and money on it.
Miah
Deletei agree with you. the people that preach about passion seem to be the ones where they got lucky and it actually worked out for them. most passions will turn into hobbys for people, as they will find work somewhere else, people should always keep this in mind so they do not get dissapointed when their dream does not work out.
Jordan Naslund
DeleteI also agree with this. The people who end up successful because they got lucky are the ones often preaching to others that their way was the right way. I don't think those people understand just how rare their situation truly is.
My first take away is from chapter 1 about the story of Steve Jobs. At first in Jobs life he went to college and studied Western history and dance, and dabbled in Eastern mysticism. He had no interest in business or electrons. He then dropped out of college his first year, but still slept on campus, crashing on friends floors. He later moved back home and took a night shift job, he later left his job and took a spiritual journey through India. Jobs buddy, Steve Wozniak, came to Jobs for help in a project dealing with electronics, and needed help with the business part. From there on he began famous and known for Apple, a company in electronics.
ReplyDeleteI found this interesting because Steve Jobs did not go after his passion, and later after being successful with his job, he realized that it was his passion. So, what I took away from this is, do not be worried if you do not find your passion right away, take opportunities you may want not to take, and then you will later find your passion as you find a job or career that you enjoy and can grow off of.
Marisa Jesme
DeleteI also think its very interesting that he didn't have that at his passion, he dropped out of college, went and did other things, then he got invited to help along with the business part of Apple, but I feel like everyone knows Steve Jobs more than the other guy who actually created it.
DeleteJordan Naslund
DeleteI think it's weird that Steve Jobs didn't mention his other passions before he became who he is today. He talks all about following your passions but in reality he wasn't following his passion when he started at Apple.
My second take away is from chapter 2. Amy Wrzesniewski explored the distinction between a job, a career, and a calling. A job is a way to pay bills, a career is a path toward increasingly better work, and a calling is work that's an important part of your life and vital part of your identity.
ReplyDeleteI believe in Amy's distinction between a job, a career, and a calling. I also believe a lot of people are stuck in the job part because all they want is money to help pay bills and purchase other items. That is why I believe a lot of Americans are unhappy with their work because they only look at it as a way for money.
Marisa Jesme
DeleteKhloe
DeleteI agree I feel like I never hear people say my career is... or my true calling was when... Everyone just calls it their job because they are getting by with it and that is better than having no job and no money. So they go with it.
Jordan Naslund
DeleteI agree with you. It seems most people get stuck at the job part and I believe that it is because they are still looking for that "follow your passion" job. They get so caught up with that idea that they miss what's right there in front of them.
Marisa Jesme
ReplyDeleteMy third take away is from Chapter 3, which is, that passion can be dangerous. The author talks about a lot of people who followed their passion and later realized that it is not for them. The author also believes that telling someone to "follow their passion" will lead to a career riddled with confusion and angst.
This confused me because if it was their passion then they should be happy in their career, as what we are told growing up. So, maybe that the people that are unhappy after finding it, is actually not their true passion.
Khloe
DeleteTrue, people could just try and convince themselves growing up thinking they know their passion and when they come to it they are like shit this is not what I want. never thought about it like that.
Madelynn
DeleteHe goes on to state that that is the problem. So many of us have a hard time finding a passion let alone a true passion so basically don’t even try, which I believe I a terrible message as well. When he talks about passion I believe that he is talking more about people following their hobbies. To me, passion is Moree like a calling so you should have no trouble being fulfilled in a job if it fits that.
Noah Rupprecht
DeleteI'm excited to learn about the alternative for your passion then. If "finding you passion" is dangerous, then how should one go about it. So yes, I'm am also becoming confused as well.
Jadeann
DeleteI also find it confusing because he doesn't really give that good of supporting details leaving us just very confused. Like Noah I also am interested in the alternative.
Marisa Jesme
ReplyDeleteMy last take away is from chapter 2, which is, the idea about your work place. To feel motivated in a work place you need to fulfill three psychological needs. They have to do with, feeling you have control over your day, and that your actions are important. If you also have a feeling that you are good at what you do, and the feeling of connection to other people. The last one is if you feel close to people at work. If you have all of these fulfilled, or at least some, you will have a better enjoyment of your job. It all takes time to fulfill all of these needs.
I found this interesting because this talks about fulfillment in your work and not your passion. So, following your passion is not always the answer, sometimes it is what fulfills you in your work, and then later it will become your passion. I know a lot of people who were able to find their passion later on in life, by taking a job that they had little interest in and being able to fulfill themselves, and being able to turn that job into their passion. For example, our guest speakers.
Miah
Deletei think that the environment and people you surround yourself with in your work is very important. you want to be happy at your job, and want to go to your job. loving the place you work and the people you work with has a huge factor in this. if youlove you rjob you will also work harder at it. all in all, these factors are all key pieces to become good at what you do.
Khloe
ReplyDeleteMy first take away from is from the introduction reading Thomas story. It is crazy how you can have such an idea drilled into your head and be so dead set on what you think is right for you and so be wrong. He thought being a Monk is what would make him the happiest and his answer to his problems.
He had spent a whole year convincing himself that Buddhism was going to complete him. Thomas was walking in the woods the one day and realized "The reality was, nothing had changed. I was exactly the same person, with the same worries and anxieties" (Newport, 2012 pg. xvi). He had built such anm image in his head that he thought would come true and when it dawned on him that he was the same person and felt no different he broke down.
I think reading this people can learn to not build such a fantasy in their head when they have no idea what to expect. You do not want to get your hopes way up about something when you're unclear of the outcome. So just go into it with a level head and if it ends up being your passion and life great but if not then you won’t be so upset because you did not build it up to be the best thing ever.
Madelynn
DeleteThe problem, in my opinion, was the fact that he spent a whole year convincing himself that it would be the perfect thing for him to become. He had it drilled so far into his head that there was no way he could not be disappointed. He fantasized about it and the problem with fantasizing about something is that real-life nearly every compares to fantasy. He was so convinced that it was going to be perfect so when it was not everything he was imagined he was unfulfilled.
Miah
Deletei agree. he had bet everything on this one option andit ended up failing him, leaving him very upset and lost. while if he owuld have had a plan b, this would not have taken such a toll on him. always have options and try other things instead of investing your time into one thing that youre not sure will work out in the end.
Noah Rupprecht
DeleteVery well stated. Every time I assume something, it never turns out. Because of these high standards we have, we don't know how to react when it doesn't turn out for the best.
Khloe
ReplyDeleteI was astonished after listening and reading about Steve Jobs that he was not a go by the book kinda guy. He did not grow up in a rich family or a was a technology guru that could spend countless of hours in a computer lab. To find that he dropped out of college after one semester because he believed it was not the right thing for him I found odd. Odd because with being one of the most successful men in the world he did have to go to the almighty four year college. Along with that he kinda did his own thing went to odd classes took a year went to India. I just think it nice to know that even the most successful people do not know perhaps their passion right away and with time, work, and learning look what can happen.
Khloe
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting in chapter two “Passion is Rare” Amy Wrzesniewski a professor at Yale surveyed a bunch of college administrative workers. What she found was there was a wide range of workers but interesting enough the people who have worked there for longer and had more experience seemed to enjoy their work more.
I think it has to do with the people who have been there longer have been through the ropes, they have seen more, learned more and are better at their job than the newer ones. Normally when you are good at something the better you get at it the more you learn to love it like math, reading knitting whatever it is. Just like your job the better you get at it and grow you will learn to have a stronger passion for it like the more experienced office employees.
Madelynn
DeleteYes, I fully agree with this. The reason they liked it more overtime was because they became better at it. They established connections and learned more about the skills they had and actively practiced them. They learned to love it but they more than like did not start the job hating it. We tend to not seek out the things we hate so my assumption is that most we’re just looking for a job and as they developed the skills required they began to love it.
I also agree, I also feeling like the people who did like their jobs had experience before they went into it, like we have with internship, and were able to see if they like it or not. The people that had been there longer though have gotten good at what they do so they feel confident.
DeleteKhloe
ReplyDeleteLastly, from chapter three a quote that stuck out to me is “The more we focused on loving what we do, the less we ended up loving it” (Newport 2012, p.23). I think this relates back to the story of Thomas he was so dead set on becoming a Monk and that would fulfill him. I think if we are so dead set on one thing and build it up so much in our head that in real life it will be so hard to satisfy that feeling. Then when we feel like we have failed to pursue our passion it is because what is going on in our head can be completely different from the real world. We ned to be more realistic yes of course you can still pursue your passion but do not get to high hopes from it. Taking your passion from being a hobby to being what you eat, breathe, and live for the rest of your life is a whole noter level.
Molly Halsa
DeleteI like how you stated this! I also feel like if we follow something we love we will play it up in our heads and be disappointed when it is not as great as we played it up to be.
Madelynn
ReplyDeleteI do not think Thomas's story was about Passion, I think it was about obsession. He started with just the idea of zen and over time it developed into the idea of him being a monk. He expected immediate gratification and live his best life, but from my experience most people dont believe in this. A lot of the examples he uses are people who followed their hobby, not their passion. To me, a passion is something that you firmly believe in and want to achieve. Maybe our difference in understanding throughout these chapters is because we have a different definition of what a passion is. This is something I believe he should have defined it early on to clear up any confusion.
Miah
Deletethis is a different precpective i hadn't thought about. it seems maybe he did have an obsession and this was more of a dream to him rather than a realistic goal he could make something out of. at least he realized it eventually, and is now hopefully doing something better fit for him.
I agree with you here on obsession and passion. I agree with your definition of passion, Madelynn. I think a number of people (including Newport) think of it like this -
DeleteWhen they hear "follow your passion," they think of another saying that was mentioned by Jobs: "Do what you love."
I am one of the lucky ones who fall under that mantra. I think everyone should be able to have a job that fulfills them. In fact, that is my goal as a teacher.
But to have work that is meaningful and work that one can be passionate about, is harder than it seems, which is one of Gladwell's claims.
As a teacher, I'm interested in this concept because many of you will have jobs that don't yet exist OR jobs that you don't even know are jobs (such as being a search engine optimizer or a commercial lines marketing director (like Tori Miller) or a talent acquisitionist (like Sara Pederson) or a safety consultant (Barb Schmitz).
I'm not saying that you should believe in what you want to do and achieve. Students (and teachers too) need all of that they can have. Gladwell, I think, would agree with your here. He would likely add that you should be sure that your "passion" is built around something you are good at or a skill that you have.
This is really interesting, and now that I read it 100% agree. He definitly didn't have the passion for it as I see now. Now i feel like if it was truly his passion he wouldn't of hated it and left.
DeleteMadelynn
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the idea he explored in chapter two about the administrative assistants. He found that the longer they worked the more they liked and felt fulfilled by their job. This was made to reinforce his idea that you have to work through hating your job to love it. While I do not agree with this idea I do like the research. I just believe that it is a cool thing to think about. Compare it to highschool, when you first come most people feel out of place but as you go to high school longer you become more comfortable and have a better idea of what you are doing; I believe that this can apply to jobs as well but downright hating your job is a different matter. I don’t believe you should ever have to hate your job in order to love it, even the newer administrative assistants did not sound as if they hated it. They may not have loved it but they were content as of that moment in time.
I agree with people not necessarily hating their job, but more or less, just not enjoying it as much as they would once they learn everything and are able to focus on just enjoying their work.
DeleteMadelynn
ReplyDeleteThe last thing I am going to talk about is a job, a career and a calling. Most people are just getting a job to pay the bills and that is how he points out that most careers and calling can be started. Maybe I am misunderstanding this but I do not agree with this. Most people my age do not want their job working at Walmart to be what they do for a living. They hate it now and will continue to hate it. I stand by my idea that a job that will eventually turn into a career and then a calling will have something to do with the skills that you have right now. I am not talking about hobbies, hobbies do not turn into a job most of the time. I am talking about true passion. I am going to use me for an example (this could be why I disagree with him so strongly) I never really looked for a job but that is beside the point. What I wanted to do with my life is to help people, mostly people who get hate and do not deserve it and I have very strong public speaking skills. These meshed into me knowing that becoming a civil rights lawyer would be the best decision for me. I see things like this happening all the time. I believe me and Cal just have very different definitions of things that causes us to not understand each other, I wish he would clarify things a bit more.
Miah
ReplyDeletemy first take away is on steve jobs. the story of steve jobs amazes me, but also doesn't. it seems crazy to me that he became who he is now, without originally majoring in electronics or buisness. not to mention that he also dropped out of college. on the other hand, this also does not surprise me because it seems that A LOT of people have stories like this. they headed towards a general path hoping they would find something they enjoy, something bad happens and they either drop out or decide on a default job. the thing is, it always seems like they end up finding something they become very successful at. When i see or hear about someone who became successful, it was no an easy journey or something that just landed in their lap. typically, there is some story to tell behind it. What im getting at is don't be disspointed and think the world is ending if your first option does not work out, most of the time it is not your first option that you will be satisfied with.
I also think another reason why people dive right into their passion is because they are worried about what other people will think of them if they do not know what they are doing with their life.
DeleteMarisa Jesme ^^^
DeleteMiah
ReplyDeletemy second take away is from Thomas. this story made me sad for him, he got so far into his journey until he realized this is not the right option for him. this is why i believe you should have options. the quote by Al Merick stands out to me: "i set goals for myself at being the best i could be at whatever i did" this is a very good tactic in how you go about life. being good at a lot of little things will give you options in what you could do with those skills. besides putting all your focus and time into one thing, and basing everything on that. this is also not good because if everything depends on that one passion and it does not work out, you are lost and don't have anywhere to go from there. it is imporant to not have tunnel vission, and think of other possibilities. you might even find something new that you like much better.
I liked what you said about how it was hard to read how he went so far only to see it wasn't what he wanted and today that happens a lot with kids in college. I do think though that having those options and goals will make it easier and better to understand what you want.
DeleteMiah
ReplyDeletemy third take away is from amy wrzeniewski, an organizational behaviorists who studied how people think of their work. she goes into detail about the difference in a job, career, and a calling. "a job is a way to pay the bills, a career is a path toward increasingly better work, and a calling is work thats an important part of your life and a vital part of your identity" after reading this quote, i think every student going into college should try and see what catagory they would fall into with their job. if you are going to be working for most of your life, i would want to enjoy it. i don't think most people look at their work this way, and i feel if they did see this, that very few would fall into the calling catagory. this is unfortunate to think about, and i wish people would have this outlook before they choose their work, because if people are passionate about their work, they become very good at it. imagine having a world full of geniuses.
my fourth take away is from the book "the unique challenges of life in your twenties" this book gives many examples of students who don't know what they want to do and how to go about it. jill, a student in her twenties said "i graduated college wanting nothing more than the ultimate job for me" being that everything jill tried to do, failed her high standards. i think that in high school we are given such high hopes about finding the perfect job for you, and you needing to know wha youre going to do right after you graduate and all the steps along the way. all this preassure easily leads into someone rushing into a career path, often leading to choosing the wrong one. ive heard that more than 50% of students drop out of college, and even more than that end up changing their major at least once. students should not be so preassured into picking the perfect job because when they get out into the real world their expectations are high, and they get dissapointed in what they find.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I feel like we get pushed to fine what major or career we want to go into but first linc, then senior focus and it stresses everyone out, including me. There is a ton of time in college to figure out what is right for you.
DeleteNoah Rupprecht
DeleteI love what you said. I feel like part of it is the pressure to be out of your own as well. The "typical" American needs to go to school, graduate, and find a job so they can take care of themselves. High school students have really no clue what to expect on their own, which could be a scary thing.
- Miah^
ReplyDeleteMy first response to the chapter was about Thomas and how he was following his passion and woking so hard at it to become a monk, but in the end he still wasn't satisfied with what he done.
ReplyDeleteBefore this book I didn't really ever think that following your passtion could go wrong but now I can see where it does. Peoples passtions change as much as they do and I know if I tried to follow my passtion, that would be horses farther then college I would be broke, have many bills to pay, and having to choose not to be with family and on the road trying to make a living.
Like my passtion there are tons of them that people have such a hockey or and sport trying to go pro that only a small percent can even make it or get to where it is worth trying for.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIn chapter two they talked a little bit about people trying to go pro in sports and the percentage that are unable to reach their goal. So I think another thing about following your passion is, are you able to reach it, and in some cases for people, it is no.
DeleteMarisa Jesme ^^^
DeleteMy second take away from chapter 2 is when Amy Wrzesniewski was introduced and she did the researched between finding your occupation a job, carerr, and a calling. When she explained a job as a way to pay the bills, a career as a path towards better workm and a calling as work that is a vital part of your identity, a couple people came to mind.
ReplyDeleteI agreed with her distinction between the three becasue once I read it I thought of where I have seen it. Many people are trapped at a job they don't like or have a career that is important to pay the bills, get benifits, and do work. I believe that there are more then a few that have found a job that they are truly happy at but you just don't see it offten becasue most don't take the chance to learn to love what they do and only do the job for the money.
My third take away from the book was during the introduction when he was told "how bad of a school are you willing to go to?" He was going to MIT and went into the most respectable profession their teaching, but at a professor's level. He thought he could get a job and have it for life but he found our that it was hard, stressful, and depressing having to look for a job that benifited him along with his family.
ReplyDeleteI connected to the quote because it is a lot not only going to school and doing the work to come out with a degree, but then finding a job and one that you can enjoy too.
I agree with you. The thought is almost scary that you go to school for this passion of yours and spend so much time and money to be good at it but you end up not enjoying it.
DeleteJordan Naslund
ReplyDeleteMy first response is to the overall idea of the book. The overall idea that the book is trying to get across is that following your passion is dangerous for most people and will likely lead to you being unhappy with your life and having to job skip. Now, I do agree with this however I don't believe that you should completely ignore your passions like I feel the book is trying to encourage.
I believe that you should find something you are good at and work on it like the book suggests. You will learn to love the work you do when you become good at it and feel that it is good enough to be important, but I also believe that your other passions should still be in your life in someway. When you are not working follow your passions but maybe more as a hobby.
Yes, I agree with having your passion as a hobby if you are unable to reach it. This way you can have work that you enjoy, without ruining your passion for youself.
DeleteMarisa Jesme ^^^
DeleteNoah Rupprecht
ReplyDeleteMy first take away about this book was about the interesting route that Steve Jobs took to become successful. He dropped out of college and he started working for a computer time-sharing company. But he was replaced when he left to work elsewhere. And the rest is history.
This was interesting to read. Looking at a man by the name of Steve Jobs, you would think he would've been a prodigy all his life. The roads to his career took all sorts of turns along the way. He didn't even follow his passion, he basically just wanted to make money, so he started buying fully assembled computers.
It's also interesting that in his popular Stanford commencement speech, he said to "follow your passion." Newport makes a great point that Jobs didn't even do that. So why is he telling a large group of students that?
Ya good point. I feel like he did not really know his true passion. Jobs thought it was yoga and music, but he later found out that it was not his true passion. He found his true passion after trying new things out and was able to fulfill his psychological needs in his workplace.
DeleteMarisa Jesme ^^^
DeleteJordan Naslund
ReplyDeleteMy second is a connection between this book and Outliers. I see many different connections between the two books but I believe the biggest one is SGTCIY's idea of working on your skills is what can make you happy and Outliers' idea of 10,000 hours.
In Outliers they said that no one person is just born with talent but rather they put so much time and effort into their careers behind the scenes it often seems like it. 10,000 hours is the claimed number of hours someone would need to put in before they became masters at their practice. This connects back to SGTCIY because the whole point of the book is telling us to find what we are good at and work on it till the point that people can't ignore you and your skills. The point in which people can't ignore you is that 10,000 hour mark when you have finally mastered your practice.
Casey Hiemstra
DeleteI didn't see this connection when reading, but when you point it out I'm not sure how I didn't. I like this connection because it shows how both authors are giving similar advice which seems to give it more credibility. Who knows for sure, maybe you. can create a passion for your job at 5000 hours and then become so good they can't ignore you at 10,000? I think that is interesting to think about because 10,000 hours is quite a while. Does it take that long to grow a passion for your career?
My second take away was the study that Amy Wrzesniewski conducted. She surveyed employees from a variety of occupations and found that most people identify their work into three categories. So she surveyed administrative assistants what category they considered their job to fall under. What she found was that the more experienced assistants seemed to love their work more than the younger ones.
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense, but is also confusing at the same time. Yes, one would expect these results, but at the same time, a new employee should be just as excited, right? This is why I think the results are so interesting, because I would've thought that younger people would be excited about their new job, while the more experienced could search for something new and feel that they're ready to move one.
I never thought about that and I agree with what you said about the results being a shock. I though that the new employees after reading your response would be happy too and see it more as a career or calling.
DeleteThat was Noah Rupprecht by the way.
ReplyDeleteJordan Naslund
ReplyDeleteMy third is a takeaway from the book. That takeaway is the idea that many jobs are much more complex than they seem at first glance. Most of the time when you look into the background of a person's career there is much more than just a straight line from point A to point B. But rather there is a twisted path of bumps and turns.
I think Cal Newport does a great job at showing us that when he shows us the life of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs didn't just become CEO of Apple and become a millionaire but he was actually a college drop out who jumped from place to place following a passion that wasn't leading him anywhere until he settled with his job (for money), got good at it, and the rest is history. I would say Steve Jobs seems pretty happy with his life and is passionate about his work, it's just not as straight forward as we thought it was.
I totally agree. Life cannot be a straight line because there is just simply too much that can go haywire. Most of us are people that want some sort of adventure in our lives. Without the adventure, we feel as though we are just going from point A to point B, and that is just boring.
DeleteJordan Naslund
ReplyDeleteMy fourth and final take away comes from Chapter 3. "For some people, following their passion works" (page 24).
Cal Newport makes it a point to show that he does understand that his claim isn't exactly 100% true. Because for some people following your passion does work and they become largely successful because of it. But, this is only true for some people, not everyone can do this and it's very rare that someone becomes successful because they truly following their passions. I agree that people shouldn't just hope and pray that they are the certain few that are able to make something off of their passions, like some unseen force is going to help them out. You make your life, no one else.
I think that pointing this out is a good, because yes sometimes it does happen and just because it's rare doesn't mean it can't happen and bring someone very far.
DeleteNot many people can make this happen so it is important to point out when it does. Although it is rare, it is achievable which people should know.
Delete^ Shayla
DeleteNoah Rupprecht
ReplyDeleteMy third take away was about Conclusion #3: Passion Is a Side Effect Of Mastery. This falls back on the idea that the more one gets good at something, the more they will enjoy it. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) found what motivates a person in the workplace. They found three factors that fulfill the basic needs. The factors are autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
This supports Wrzesniewski's findings so well. People are motivated when they have the feeling of connection to others in the workplace. The more experienced employees love their jobs, because they have gained those special connections with others, they want to always be around them. "Phenomenal people attract phenomenal things." It's a perfect example that passion does take an extreme amount of time and mastery.
Molly halsa
DeleteI agree with you that people will be more successful if they have people they enjoy being around working with them. If I were to work with someone that I hated I would not want to work with them because we would not help push each other to achieve things. I get that you most likely won't like everyone that you work with, but even having one person by your side pushing you will make a difference.
Noah Rupprecht
ReplyDeleteMy final take away is about the tale of Scott ands the "Quarter-Life Crisis." Scott pursued the career that he was most passionate about. At first, he loved everything, his office, friends, and even his boss. But later, the job became unfulfilling and didn't appeal to his senses anymore.
I agreed with what Newport was trying to say here. Anyone who follows their passions may be successful and have a great time, but that's not the case for all. The more passionate one is about what they're supposed to do, the more it can destroy you. When one fails, nothing can go well. "Bad things follow, such as chronic job-hopping and crippling self-doubt" (Newport, 2012, p.22). This is because we as a society have such high standards for ourselves, that when they aren't met, we feel broken.
I agree with your response. I think as people grow up they form a certain mindset with specific expectations that does not set them up for success. As they move forward in their life, they will refer back to those expectations which will lead them into that strict mindset.
DeleteAnya Gangl
DeleteMolly Halsa
ReplyDeleteMy first take away from the book is that your job may not start off as your passion but you could make it your passion.
In the first chapter it talks about Steve Jobs. In the video he made it sound like doing things with computers was his destiny but in the book it made it seem like he just stumbled upon it. Making computers was not something that started out as a passion it was just something that he could do and be successful at. He soon made it his passion. It may not have started out that way but it ended as his passion because he loved what he did.
Jerzie
DeleteMolly I was thinking the same thing. At first you might absolutely hate it and then you might get lucky like Steve Jobs. I also think it is possible to stumble upon something right away which could be why some people think they followed their passion.
Molly Halsa
ReplyDeleteNext comes from Chapter 3. "For some people, following their passion works" (page 24).
I do agree with Newport that some people do get to do their passions as a job. But for most people that is not true. You should not just drop everything and follow your passion because there is a larger chance that it won't work than that it will. You need to have a plan to have a stable job but still be able to enjoy your passions. Like you can have a regular job and still go out and hunt, or fish, or play basketball but you need to have a solid plan so you don't ruin your life.
Anya Gangl
DeleteI agree with your response because in reality we need to make choices for our well-being. I think Newports book focuses more on the practicality of achieving success.
Ciera
DeleteI agree as well. Some people are lucky enough to get to work with their passions, but most are not able to. Your passions should not define what you do with your life.
Shayla
DeleteI agree with not dropping everything for you passion. Not many people are able to make it their life and many who try fail. You need to think of what will bring stability to your life rather that running off to enjoy a passion that could be a hobby.
Molly Halsa
ReplyDeleteThird, I agree with this quote in chapter 2 "'In the movies there's this idea that you should just go for your dream," Glass tells them. "But I don't believe that. Things happen in stages." (p.12)
I think this is true that things happen in stages. You go to college learn what you need for the profession you are going into. You graduate and go to work. You keep learning while you are working. And you can move up the ladder. In movies the characters don't have to do anything to get to where they are. In reality you need to work to get successful you don't just get it handed to you.
I also agree with this that in order to grow you have to go through the stages and learn along the way to get were you need to be.
DeleteMolly Halsa
ReplyDeleteFinally, My first take away from the book was to not follow your passion because it is dangerous. You will most likely be job skipping and unhappy if you follow your passion which I do agree with to an extent.
I don't think that you should put your passions aside all together but to make a wise decision while choosing what you want to do. You can still follow your passions but don't make it your life. You can apply your passions to your everyday life but don't let it consume you.
I also agree that you shouldn't just willingly put your passions away. I understand it could be dangerous to follow but there are also ways to bring passion to a job. I think people should just be cautious.
DeleteJerzie
DeleteThis is something I 100% agree with. I do think you should try and incorporate some of the things you like with your job otherwise it'll be a lot longer before you end up liking it.
Jadeann Forsberg
ReplyDeleteMy first take away from this book is that passion can be dangerous. Growing up I have always been taught to follow my passions. Reading this made me open my eyes a little into how reality can go for following a passion. I find the examples that Newport gave were pretty good and definitely backed up his reasoning.
Know I understand why he believes this however I still don't think you should throw your passion away, I just think you should be more cautious if you choose to follow a passion as it can lead to some bad outcomes.
Jadeann
ReplyDeleteThe second thing I noticed is just with the author himself. I feel as if he is just very negative. He doesn't really give any hope that someone can follow a passion successfully, while it is fine I just think he is very one sided which makes the book not very enjoyable in my opinion.
I also think it is funny how he wrote an entire book about not following your passion because he clearly has enough passion to write a book about not following your passion. It is not easy to write a 15 page paper if you have no passion for writing, let alone a book. I think he secretly is a hypocrite, normal people don't write an entire book and get it published without passion.
Jerzie
DeleteI never thought of this, but now that you pointed it out I agree with you. He seems to have followed his passion so why is he criticizing people who do the same? However, I do think that it's possible he got lucky with following his passion and is just trying to warn other people who might not get so lucky.
Jadeann
ReplyDeleteThe third thing that I just found really interesting is how the longer people were an assistant the more they enjoyed their job. This was really interesting to me because I thought the opposite. An example is I feel like when people start out at Digi-Key they are hopeful and excited but over time get tired and warn out so they no. longer enjoy the same job they have had for the past 10 years. I also think maybe they should have looked at more jobs then just the assistant job they looked at, I think it would lead to more accuracy as only one job does not equal all jobs.
Anya Gangl
DeleteI think it is interesting how you use your personal experiences to come up with this perspective. I personally think that with more experience the more control and rhythm you find, but after reading your response maybe it depends more on the individual.
Jadeann
ReplyDeleteMy fourth and final take away is that to remember things do happen in stages. I thought this was very important to be mentioned as I think most people just want to obtain skills and happiness right away but it doesn't work like that.
On page 12 Ira Glass is quoted "In the movies there's this idea that you should just go for your dream, but I don't believe that. Things happen in stages." This quote just really stood out to me as that is a great point. I agree with it that things happen in stages amd it is just important to remember that that is how things work.
Anya Gangl
DeleteThis is a great point to notice. Most of the time I see people wanting to jump into life and have all the nice things in the world when in reality it does not work like that. I think people need to learn how to accept opportunities and recognize when there needs to be change.
I totally agree with this as well. Especially now, we can see how things happen in stages. With the virus, among other things, the progression of it is happening in steps. First it started in one area, now it is others. As precautions, we have slowly been becoming more strict with what is happening and taking other steps in order to keep people safe.
Delete^ Ciera; That was mine.
DeleteShayla
DeleteI agree that we should not expect to be completely happy with where we are right away. It will take time and change to get there. People need to realize that things do take time and will not happen overnight as many believe.
My fourth take away from chapter 2 was that one key idea was that you have to force yourself to through the learning and work and the skills will come and then the passtion as well.
ReplyDeleteI though that this was a very good point that I hadn't heard much about. I have always know that to get to where you want to be you will need to work hard but I never thought about it turning into a passtion or something you could start to enjoy. I think this is something that can happen and can help many find joy in the job.
Jerzie
DeleteI agree with you Ava. Before I read these 3 chapters I hadn't heard anything about that either. I think we can all apply this to our jobs later in life. In other words, instead of giving up on the job right away, force yourself to keep working at it in hopes one day you'll be so good at it you'll fall in love with what you do.
Shayla
DeleteI agree with this. It is important to not give up on a job right away, but to instead work through the tough times. The longer you push through a job and become better at it is when the passion begins to grow. It is important that we all remember this later in life.
Anya Gangl
ReplyDeleteThe main take away I got from Newport‘s book was how all the little things you do now can have a huge impact on your future. By finding the skills that you are good at and the strengths you have, you can figure out what type of job you can turn into a successful career. Rule one emphasizes the importance that skills and strengths have on your life. I think this is very important because even though we should acknowledge our passions and do what we love we also need to be practical and make real-life decisions that will best suit our needs.
The second idea I think is interesting is how Newport discusses your passion automatically following you into your career. I think this is cool because you can have success in a career and enjoy what you do. After you have success in a career, it is natural for your passions to weave into that area of your life. Your passions balance with your work life giving you a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
After reading all of rule one, I started to think about the people in my life who have had success by following their strengths and passions. I noticed that most of them follow their passions, but within their passions is where their skills and strengths are. So when it comes down to how they have achieved success, I believe it comes down to their ability and skill.
By the time I was in chapter 3, I started to compare this book with The Element. Newport writes more briefly and to the point then Sir Ken Robinson. Both authors provide real-life examples and situations for the point they are trying to make. Even though both authors write the same genre of books, I feel that Cal Newport’s book is more convincing and practical to our lives today.
Casey Hiemstra
DeleteI like how you relate the book to people in your own life and where they have succeeded and maybe also have not succeeded. I think that if you have personal real life examples of things that are stated in the book, it will make what the book is saying even more impactful and you won't think it's untrue. Hopefully it makes the advice even more helpful for you and helps you be successful in life.
Jerzie
ReplyDeleteMy first take away is that you shouldn't follow your passion. This is something new to me because I've always been told to do what you know you will love, and if you love it, you'll do great things with this. However after reading the first rule and realizing passion is dangerous, it goes to show that at first you might not love your job.
Jerzie
ReplyDeleteMy second take away is the idea that there are 3 things you. must have that will determine if you like your job or not.
1. autonomy
2. competence
3. relatedness
He goes on to explain what each of these mean and I agree that you need them in order to like your job. For example, I like my job at Pizza Hut, but I defiantly don't love it. The thing that I am missing is autonomy. I feel like I have no control in my day when I go there. I love the people and I'm good at it. But, when I go there I know I'm going to have to bow down to what the customers want. In other words, I'm not in control.
Jerzie
ReplyDeleteMy 3rd take away is to remember things don't happen over night. You won't love you job instantly, and if you do you're lucky. In most cases, it takes time and effort to develop skills so you end up enjoying what you do. In life you don't get the things you want just because you think you worked hard. It takes time and eventually you will earn the things you want. If you want to love your job, it will take time.
I like this takeaway because it is true. Many people think that if you just follow your passion that you will end up on top being happy that you are in the perfect career, but rarely does this happen. Of course we want things instantly; we want instant satisfaction. It is in our human nature, but we need to also learn that not all things give instant satisfaction. Getting into a career that's right for you isn't about following your passion and being instantly happy, it's about going on a path that may be rough at times, but you end up on top. It's not instant, but it is satisfying for sure.
Delete^ Casey Hiemstra
DeleteJerzie
ReplyDeleteMy 4th take away is that it isn't our generations fault we believe we should follow our passion. As we are growing up we are told that if we find something we love we will do great things in life. Which, is fine. However, like the book said, we get this idea that work will be more of an adventure. We get the wrong picture painted in our heads and we end up getting let down because every job doesn't meet those expectations.
Ciera
ReplyDeleteMy 1st connection is with a quote, "In Wrzesniewski's research, the happiest, most passionate employees are not those who followed their passion into a position, but instead those who have been around long enough to become good at what they do." With my job at McCollum's, I have found that the longer I have been working there, the more passionate I have become. When I first started, at the end of my 7th grade year, I enjoyed it more for the scenery than anything else. Now, I love going out to guide and witness the scenery of the fields with the hunters while they're all enjoying themselves.
Ciera
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 1, a quote from Steve Jobs was given, "You've got to find what you love.... [T]he only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle." So, say you find a job that you love, however, it doesn't pay enough, even full time, to pay for your bills and still allow you to survive. If the pay isn't enough, would you leave in search of something with better pay, ask for a raise, or would you stay with what you're doing? For me, it would have to depend on what the job is and if I would be able to pick up another job to help pay for my bills.
Ciera
ReplyDeleteMy 3rd post is about the passion hypothesis. The passion hypothesis, for some people, isn't able to provide what it claims. The hypothesis claims that being happy in an occupation, you must find a job that matches your passion. I don't know that I can believe in it because not everybody's passions have jobs that can correlate with them.
Ciera
ReplyDeleteMy 4th connection is a quote from Ira Glass; "'The key thing is to force yourself through the work, force the skills to come; that's the hardest phase.'" Without practicing, you will not be able to grow within something. You likely need to force yourself to push through what you're doing in order to gain skills that will help you out in the future. Though you need to force yourself, it will be extremely hard in order to do so. This is with most things. It is hard until you know and understand what you need to do, then it becomes easier.
I appreciate this connection and agree. You probably will need to do hard things in order to get to where you want. You need to go through the dip and come out on the other end and see if it is something you could do the rest of your life and not hate.
Delete^ Casey Hiemstra
DeleteCasey Hiemstra
ReplyDeleteMy first response to the part of the book that talks about rule #1 is the whole idea that you should pursue something you are good at for a career rather than something you. are passionate about. I believe this is solid advice that I. would like to learn more about.
The author explains how the standard "follow your passion" advice is not beneficial because it leads to nowhere in most cases. I liked the premise that you need to follow something you are good at and get even better at it until eventually you make it your calling. This is new advice to me and makes me eager to continue reading the book.
Casey Hiemstra
ReplyDeleteMy second response is about the whole Steve Jobs speech that the book talked about and that we watched. Steve Jobs is a very influential person and he talks about following your passion. The author explains how Steve Jobs preaches to follow your passion, but did not follow that advice himself when he was going through life.
I'm wondering if Steve Jobs said this because he believes that is what he did to get to where he got at the time of making that speech without realizing it is not. He got there by seeing things that had money making potential and then grew his knowledge for those things and eventually made a highly successful career out of it. I believe his speech had good intentions, but was unfortunately misinformation about himself whether he knew it or not.
Casey Hiemstra
ReplyDeleteMy third takeaway was about how many Americans are unsatisfied with their jobs. Is this because they didn't follow their passion? Probably not. Maybe it is because they tried to follow their passion and it didn't really work out. I find it interesting how the author talks about this.
Cal Newport addresses this by saying that people don't obtain passion easily and that it is rare and takes time. This stuck with me because if people want to enjoy their jobs, the advice the author gives is probably the best at creating a potential passion out of your job - which is doing something you are good at and get even better at it.
Casey Hiemstra
ReplyDeleteMy final response to the rule #1 section of the book would be relating to the issues of following your passion(s). I learned that if you do follow your passions that you are likely to end up miserable in different ways and will probably be constantly hopping from job to job.
If this is the case, which it seems to be, this is great evidence as why you should not follow your passion and instead listen to the authors advice. I believe that most people will need to make their career something they are passionate about or at the very least don't hate. For us reading this that are young, this is solid because maybe we don't have a lot of passions or our passions are hobbies and such that are very difficult to make careers out of. This is why you need to be smarter about your career choice and choice of what you study in college.
My first response is to not following your passion. To Newport, it is dangerous to do so. I found it interesting that Thomas had gone his whole life wanting to become a monk and when he finally had the chance to do so, he changed his mind.
ReplyDeleteI believe if you want to love your job don't follow your passion. Although we are told to follow our passion our whole lives, it is best not to make it our job. I do not believe that we should totally put our passions aside, however, we should keep those as hobbies.
^ Shayla
DeleteShayla
ReplyDeleteMy second response is to how Steve jobs started Apple. In his speech he stated to follow your passion which is the opposite of what he did. He did not show passion for computers or technology at all as a child. Jobs ended up going to two colleges and dropped out of both. There were no signs of him becoming a billionaire during this time. He gave no hint to what he would potentially become.
When Jobs told the Stanford class to "follow their dreams" it did not come from personal experience. He went from a college dropout with little hope to one of the founders of Apple. On his way to the top, he did not follow his passion. SGTCIY's main purpose is to convince us that following a passion will not help us as Jobs was able to build an empire without having a passion for it.
Shayla
ReplyDeleteMy third response is to the passion hypothesis. Why do so many people believe in it when so little make their passions their careers? It makes sense not to follow this hypothesis because following your passion will get your nowhere. One may be passionate about something, but are they great at it? You have to work and spend time at a job to become great at it like the college administrative assistants had done.
Shayla
ReplyDeleteMy final response is that few make their passion their life. I do agree with Newport to an extent, but I also believe that you should ignore your passion. The most important thing is that one should not drop everything to follow their passion. Although it may work out, there is a greater chance that it will . not.