Teaching Tip #59

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #59

Step #8 from Passion! 8 Steps to Find Yours.

Everything is Possible

Can Newport argues that only after you become really, really, really good at your work or job or career you will develop a deep passion for your work.  But that passion is contingent on three things that he calls “career capital.”

The more “career capital” you develop, the more leverage you will have.  Now “career capital” is rare and valuable work.  This work has three features: it allows you to have impact, freedom, and creativity.

These all work together to allow you to do work that really matters.  Regardless of the field, when you see clearly that your work has an impact on others, you tend to work harder and inject more creativity into it.  When you do that, your bosses realize how important you are and they give you more freedom or autonomy over your work because they trust you.  That leads you to develop “career capital,” which allows you to cash it in for greater opportunities and more ways to do greater things in your field.

In that way, when you have impact, freedom, and creativity, everything is possible in your field.