💡 The secret way I helped 10,000 people supercharge their career
Welcome to Whatever Matters, a weekly newsletter where I provide actionable ideas to help you build a high-performing life and career.
Today’s overview:
Introducing an exclusive, highly curated leadership program
Spilling my secrets of a supercharged career (#5 Rules)
Books and Podcast Recommendations
Question for the week.
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Spilling the secrets, to your supercharged career with 5 simple rules.
This week’s edition is very dear to me because it has not just impacted my life but has transformed the lives of over 10,000 students that I have coached over the past 5 years.
For most of you, it’s probably that time of the year, when you’re either transitioning to your first job after college placements, or you’re awaiting your appraisals or you’re just trying to make the change to a better organisation.
I was at this stage a few years back, when I dropped my first job offer from D.E Shaw.
I volunteered for a student organisation for 6 years and travelled around the world.
Landed a high-paying job, quit and started a Y Combinator-funded startup with a close friend. And, now grew a newsletter from 0 to 160K+ subscribers organically in less than 5 months.
All of this in less than 10 years. And, when I look back - I strongly remember why these following rules could change your career, life and everything around it for good.
Rule #1:
Don’t Follow Your Passion
Passion is rare and often develops after you've gained skill in a field, not before. Chasing a pre-existing passion can lead to impractical, unsustainable career choices.
The Passion Hypothesis is the biggest myth in occupational happiness. It says “ The key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you are passionate about and then find a job that matches this passion”.
Steve Jobs who was well-known for “following your passions”, didn’t start loving computers, instead, he only saw it as an opportunity to earn quick cash. There was no doubt his love for Apple computers in the later stages of his life, but he surely didn’t start because he had a passion for the computer.
Career passions are rare. Most passions (like reading) cannot be translated into a career.
Rule #2:
Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You
Focus on relentlessly improving the quality of your work. Prioritize skill development, and as you become more valuable, fulfilment follows naturally.
Adopt the craftsman mindset, a focus on what value you’re producing in your job, instead of the passion mindset, a focus on what value your job offers you.
The passion mindset makes you hyper-aware of what you don’t like about your job, and creates confusion on constantly questioning whether this is the right job- “Is this who I really am?” or “Do I love this?”. And you might irrationally jump into a field where you don’t have any skills to leverage, but you think that you have passion in (e.g. Yoga).
Rule #3:
Turn Down a Promotion
Autonomy over your work schedule, tasks, and environment is crucial to long-term satisfaction. It's worth sacrificing immediate gains for positions that provide more control when your skills make you more valuable.
Control is one of the most important targets you can choose for this. Gaining control over what you do and how you do it, has been shown up so often in the lives of people who love what they do.
The point at which you have acquired enough career capital to get meaningful control over your work life is exactly the point when you’ve become valuable enough to your current employer that they will try to prevent you from making the change.
If you treasure control over the work that you do, then you have to fight against this resistance to pursue your dream job.
Rule #4:
Think Small, Act Big
A sense of mission contributes to finding work meaningful. Don't get bogged down trying to find your one true calling upfront. Instead, use "little bets" – small projects, side hustles, and volunteering – to explore potential missions that resonate.
Build your career on a clear and compelling mission. It gives meaning to your work and provides energy to go through tough times.
A good career mission is similar to a scientific breakthrough- it’s an innovation waiting to be discovered in the adjacent possible of your field.
To maximize your chances of success and find your mission, you should deploy small, concrete experiments that return concrete feedback. These small bets allow you to tentatively explore the specific avenues surrounding your general mission. eg: For a screenwriter, such a bet might include producing sample footage for a documentary and seeing if it attracts funding.
Rule #5:
Being Self-Aware
Honestly assess your talents, skills you enjoy using, and areas where you need development. This knowledge allows you to play to your strengths strategically, target professional development for growth, and be realistic about job roles that suit you.
Discover what drives you, what kind of work environment you thrive in, and what gives your work meaning. Alignment between your values and your career path leads to greater job satisfaction, a stronger work ethic, and less likelihood of burnout.
Seek feedback from colleagues, mentors, and managers about your work style, communication, and overall professional presence. This outside perspective reveals blind spots, helps you manage your reputation, and identifies areas where your perception of yourself might need adjustment.
These rules matter a lot in your career because,
Focusing on becoming exceptional in something creates passion because it empowers you and provides a sense of accomplishment.
Society rewards those providing value. Highly developed skills are inherently valuable.
When you're in demand, you have more freedom to shape your work and negotiate the type of work-life you want.
I share a lot of career and entrepreneurial strategies daily on my Linkedin. You can follow me there for more.
Narayanan’s Recommendation Corner
→ Quote of the week,
“Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before" - Cal Newport
→ Book of the Week,
So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Cal Newport discusses why “follow your passion” is terrible career advice that leads people down unrewarding paths. In its place, share advice about how to pursue a realistic path toward a meaningful and engaging work life.
This answers one simple question: Why do some people end up loving what they do, while so many others fail at this goal? Newport offers a realistic path toward a meaningful and engaging working life.
The key takeaways from this book I feel will help you:
The Passion Hypothesis is Flawed: The idea of "following your passion" to find career fulfilment is often misleading. Passion is more likely a result of mastery in a field rather than a starting point.
Focus on Skills, Not Passion: Instead of trying to find your pre-existing passion, prioritize building rare and valuable skills. Develop expertise that makes you indispensable.
The Craftsman Mindset: Adopt an approach where you constantly strive to improve the quality of your work. Dedication to excellence will naturally draw a sense of satisfaction and control.
Career Capital: Your skills and expertise are your currency in the working world. Build up "career capital" to gain better opportunities.
Control Over Your Work: True job satisfaction and autonomy come with value. Aim for positions where your rare skills make you difficult to replace, granting you leverage for greater control.
Mission Matters: A sense of purpose in your work contributes to long-term fulfilment. Use small, deliberate steps and "little bets" to explore what missions resonate with you.
→ Podcast of the week,
On Purpose by Jay Shetty
In this episode, Jay shares several mistakes we unconsciously make that hinder our character growth and what we can do to correct them. The career path that we choose is influenced by a lot of factors - our mindset, goals, passion, and most especially the circumstances that surround us. We have a vision of where we want to be, but sometimes, we take a different route, we take a detour.
This week’s question to you
What career problems are you struggling with? I receive over 200 responses on each question and I am so happy that you take this step to share your thoughts and feelings. Step out, drop me a line with your thoughts, doubts or questions. I am happy to respond to each one of you.
Good read!
Each line inspires and interesting pull on thru readings and thorough reading of All the articles in Whatever matters by S Narayanan.