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Episode 1334:

Discover how Scott Young and Cal Newport refined their approach to career skill development in "A Subtle Mistake About How to Acquire Useful Career Skills." They initially overlooked the power of benchmark projects, which integrate real-world achievements into skill acquisition, leading to more tangible career advancements. This exploration of effective skill-building offers vital insights for anyone aiming to elevate their career.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2019/11/15/a-subtle-mistake-about-how-to-acquire-useful-career-skills/

Quotes to ponder:

"A big part of our course is executing a skill-building project. The goal is to cultivate rare and valuable skills which form the foundation for a successful career."

"The problem is that a lot of these projects didn’t generate spectacular results. Sure, the person might have felt good about deepening a skill, but these were rarely the projects that resulted in promotions, raises or transformations of a person’s work."

"Good benchmark projects are often scarier than drill-down projects. 'Getting better at research' is a lot more comfortable a goal to set than, 'Get my work published in a Top-5 journal.'"

Episode references:

Deep Work: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692

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