So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

the law of financial viability
(introduced in 
Rule #3
): A

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simple law that can be deployed
to help sidestep the two control
traps when trying to introduce
more control into your working
life. It suggests that when
deciding whether to follow an
appealing pursuit that will
introduce more control into your
work life, you should ask
yourself whether people are
willing to pay for it. If so,
continue. If not, move on.
mission
(introduced in 
Rule #4
): A
mission is another important trait
to acquire with your career
capital when creating work you

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love. It provides a unifying goal
for your career. It’s more general
than a specific job and can span
multiple positions. It provides an
answer to the question “What
should I do with my life?”
the adjacent possible
(introduced
in 
Rule #4
): A term taken from
the science writer Steven
Johnson, who took it from Stuart
Kauffman, that helps explain the
origin of innovation. Johnson
notes that the next big ideas in
any field are typically found right
beyond the current cutting edge,
in the adjacent space that

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contains the possible new
combinations of existing ideas.
The key observation is that you
have to get to the cutting edge of
a field before its adjacent
possible—and the innovations it
contains—becomes visible. In
the context of career
construction, it’s important to
note that good career missions
are also often found in the
adjacent possible. The
implication, therefore, is that if
you want to find a mission in
your career, you first need to get
to the cutting edge of your field.

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little bets
(introduced in 
Rule #4
): 
An idea borrowed from the
business writer Peter Sims.
When Sims studied innovative
corporations and people, he
noted the following: “Rather than
believing they have to start with
a big idea or plan out a whole
project in advance, they make a
methodical series of little bets
about what might be a good
direction, learning critical
information from lots of little
failures and from small but
significant wins” [emphasis
mine]. In the context of career

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construction, little bets provide a
good strategy for exploring
productive ways to turn a vague
mission idea into specific
successful projects.