Research bible – Cal spends time once per week summarizing a piece of research that is relevant to his field in a document on his computer. I am going to start doing something similar with all of the personal and professional ideas I absorb via books and podcasts so that I can start to identify trends in a more deliberate way than simply thinking to myself, “I’ve heard something before on X podcast, or read something similar in X book.”
Career passions are rare – the majority of people who feel passionate about what they do got that way by mastering the skills required to succeed in their field, taking advantage of the career capital they gradually accumulated to take on more challenging and rewarding projects, and eventually came to both love what they were doing and control the way in which they were doing it.
Deliberate practice and stretching yourself – many people chronicled in the book spent considerable time pushing themselves in self-guided practice. Jordan Tice, the guitarist, forced himself to play harder and faster than he usually would in a performance, which led to his regular playing style feeling much easier and more comfortable. It is important to force yourself into these situations – simply being “good” at the work you do and hard working while doing it isn’t enough to truly set yourself apart. You need to keep seeking out challenge.
Be patient – careers are long, and many passionate and successful people didn’t always feel that way about their careers. Be patient and make note of small progress in the right direction.
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/1455509124/ref=nodl_