Cal Newport on how you can be an expert and why you should *not* follow your passion
bsp; Cal Newport holds a PhD from MIT and is an assistant professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. He runs the popular blog Study Hacks (which I highly recommend) and is the author of four books including, most recently, So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. Cal and I talked about the secrets to becoming an expert, how deliberate practice works and why following your passion can be a *bad* idea.…
5 minutes
Interview – NYT/WSJ Bestselling Author Ben Casnocha teaches you the new secrets to networking and career success
bsp; My friend Ben Casnocha is the co-author of the NYT/WSJ #1 bestseller The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career. He wrote the book with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and it explores mindsets and techniques for navigating the rapidly changing world of work. (Full disclosure: I'm referenced in the book as a case study.) Ben and I spoke about how your career can benefit from Silicon Valley strategies, what most people get wrong…
6 minutes
What makes us feel good about our work?
n Ariely teaches psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and is the bestselling author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions and The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic. Join over 275,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More…
1 min read
26 Top Time Management Hacks:
in 25K+ readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: Checklist: Are you doing these five things to be more effective at work? 5 tips for being a better leader 5 top secrets to getting more done
1 min read
Adam Grant Teaches You The Right Way To Give And Take
am Grant is the youngest tenured and highest rated professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of the excellent book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. I spoke with Adam about how nice guys finish last and first, what really leads to expertise and how empathy can beat objectivity, among other things. Nice Guys Finish Last – And First Adam: The big idea is that there's three fundamental styles of interaction…
5 minutes
How much is your success dependent on those around you?
u'd think that doing thousands of heart surgeries would make you better at them. Not necessarily. Surgeons only got better at their home hospital: the one where they knew the team best and developed strong working relationships. Via Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success: When Huckman and Pisano examined the data, they discovered a remarkable pattern. Overall, the surgeons didn't get better with practice. They only got better at the specific hospital where they practiced. For every procedure they…
3 minutes
What’s the best way to influence others?
k for advice. Via Adam Grant's excellent Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success: New research shows that advice seeking is a surprisingly effective strategy for exercising influence when we lack authority. In one experiment, researcher Katie Liljenquist had people negotiate the possible sale of commercial property. When the sellers focused on their goal of getting the highest possible price, only 8 percent reached a successful agreement. When the sellers asked the buyers for advice on how to meet their…
2 minutes
To Help Others The Right Way, Do These 5 Things
ve posted a number of times about how helping others makes you happier. But I know this leaves some people scratching their heads: How much should I help others? How often? Will I be exploited? Will I end up resenting people I love if they don't reciprocate? We all know selfless givers who are taken advantage of and taken for granted. Nobody wants to feel like a sucker. So this simple thing doesn't seem so simple -- and it feels…
3 minutes
