Book · 2016 · Business & Economics
So Good They Can't Ignore You
- episodes
- 14
- podcasts
- 10
- people
- 11
- episodes recommend it
- 7
The book by Cal Newport which is called So Good They Can't Ignore You: why skills trump passion in the quest for work you love.
Questions about So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport
Who recommends So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport on podcasts?
Ryan Holiday (2 episodes), Andrew Huberman (1 episode), Chris Williamson (1 episode), Brad Barrett (1 episode) and Kevin Kelly (1 episode) have recommended So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport on podcasts. In all, 11 people brought it up across 10 podcasts (6 people recommended it).
Which podcasts mention So Good They Can't Ignore You the most?
The Daily Stoic (3 episodes), Modern Wisdom (2 episodes), The Tim Ferriss Show (2 episodes), ChooseFI (1 episode) and Huberman Lab (1 episode), among 10 podcasts in all.
Is So Good They Can't Ignore You recommended, or only discussed?
So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport was recommended in 7 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 7 episodes, as of 2026-05-30.
What do people say about So Good They Can't Ignore You?
Brad Barrett on ChooseFI (2018-02-01): "The book by Cal Newport which is called So Good They Can't Ignore You: why skills trump passion in the quest for work you love."
When was So Good They Can't Ignore You last mentioned on a podcast?
So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport was last recommended on Modern Wisdom by Chris Williamson on 2026-05-30.
What they say about it
- Acquiring skills over following passion2
The best things said about it
So Good They Can't Ignore You is an incredible book. Everyone should be required to read that book.
Andrew Huberman My First Million · Nov 2021 I think that most software developers should read a book by Kell Newport. It's called so good they can't ignore you. And so the concept there is around career capital. So like what are the skills that are in the most demand?
Well there is a book that I'm recommending by C Newport is called so good that can't ignore you this changed my mind because I kind of bought into the kind of new age California dogma of follow your bliss.
Wrote a book some years ago, really ahead of its time, called So Good They Can't Ignore You, which is about not meditating or doing much work to try and figure out what one's passion is by thinking, but rather go out and acquire skills.
Andrew Huberman Huberman Lab · Aug 2021 Where and when it comes up
How it comes up
11 people who brought it up
Ryan Holiday3 episodes · recommended in 2- Andrew Huberman2 episodes · recommended in 1
Chris Williamson2 episodes · recommended in 1- Brad Barrett1 episode · recommended in 1
- Kevin Kelly1 episode · recommended in 1
- Steve Huynh1 episode · recommended in 1
- Cal Newport1 episode
- Ethan Evans1 episode
- Jordan Harbinger1 episode
Saagar Enjeti1 episode
Tim Ferriss1 episode
Why people recommend it
So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport is a career guide arguing that developing rare and valuable skills matters far more than simply following one's passion. Chris Williamson recommended the book on Modern Wisdom to advise young listeners on earning respect, and Ryan Holiday suggested it on The Daily Stoic to emphasize focusing on mastery. Steve Huynh recommended it on The Pragmatic Engineer for its central concept of building career capital through in-demand skills, while Kevin Kelly shared on The Tim Ferriss Show that it cured him of New Age dogma. Dr. Andrew Huberman praised the book on My First Million as essential reading for understanding focus and skill acquisition, and Brad Barrett connected its thesis to workplace indispensability on ChooseFI. Ethan Evans noted on The Peterman Pod that while the book stresses technical competence, true corporate success also requires the interpersonal skills that the author himself demonstrates.
Every mention
Ryan Holiday My friend Cal Newport has a book. I'll give it to you in there. It's called um So Good They Can't Ignore You. 3
Recommended
“My friend Cal Newport has a book. I'll give it to you in there. It's called um So Good They Can't Ignore You.”
Discussed
“because i was reading i was reading that and then i thought of your other book because this is basically the conceit of so good uh they can't ignore you”
Recommended
“and of course if you haven't read deep work digital minimalism we're so good they can't ignore you”
Andrew Huberman So Good They Can't Ignore You is an incredible book. Everyone should be required to read that book. 2
Recommended
“So Good They Can't Ignore You is an incredible book. Everyone should be required to read that book.”
Discussed
“And wrote a book some years ago, really ahead of its time, called "So Good They Can't Ignore You", which is about not meditating or doing much work to try and figure out what one's passion is by thinking, but rather go out and acquire skills,”
Discussed
“And wrote a book some years ago, really ahead of its time, called "So Good They Can't Ignore You", which is about not meditating or doing much work to try and figure out what one's passion is by thinking, but rather go out and acquire skills, - Right. and develop a sense of passion for something by your experience of”
Chris Williamson There is a book by uh Cal Newport called So Good They Can't Ignore You. Be so good that they can't ignore you. 2
Recommended
“There is a book by uh Cal Newport called So Good They Can't Ignore You. Be so good that they can't ignore you.”
Discussed
“so that currently was a book called so good they can't ignore you”
Brad Barrett and this reminds me of the the book by Cal Newport which is called so good they can't ignore you why skills… 1
Recommended
“and this reminds me of the the book by Cal Newport which is called so good they can't ignore you why skills Trump passion in the Quest for work you love”
Kevin Kelly well there is a book that I'm recommending by C Newport is called so good that can't ignore you this change… 1
Recommended
“well there is a book that I'm recommending by C Newport is called so good that can't ignore you this changed my mind because I kind of bought into the kind of new age California dogma of follow your bliss”
Steve Huynh I think that most software developers should read a book by Kell Newport. It's called so good they can't ig… 1
Recommended
“I think that most software developers should read a book by Kell Newport. It's called so good they can't ignore you. And so the concept there is around career capital. So like what are the skills that are in the most demand?”
Cal Newport and this was before i wrote so good they can't ignore you 1
Discussed
“and this was before i wrote so good they can't ignore you”
Ethan Evans There's a famous book you I'm sure you know it uh by Cal Newport called So Good They Can't Ignore You. And… 1
Discussed
“There's a famous book you I'm sure you know it uh by Cal Newport called So Good They Can't Ignore You. And what I find ironic about this is it's all this stuff about how to be such a good worker you can't be ignored. Except this is a guy who has the social skills to both teach at Princeton”
Jordan Harbinger And in your book you mentioned that cal newport says ask yourself what and i'm paraphrasing here what combi… 1
Discussed
“And in your book you mentioned that cal newport says ask yourself what and i'm paraphrasing here what combination of abilities do you possess that are both rare and valuable and thus impossible for the market to ignore and that's your ticket and i think that's from his book so good they can't ignore you is that where that's from”
Saagar Enjeti um i read so good they can't ignore you back in college and this was all really helpful for me 1
Discussed
“um i read so good they can't ignore you back in college and this was all really helpful for me”
Tim Ferriss be so good they can't ignore you 1
Discussed
“be so good they can't ignore you”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
Discussed
“I mean so you can do this within so like you don't have to set up a business just and something you enjoy like you could so that currently was a book called so good they can't ignore you”
Other mentions (12: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“That's the Cal Newport so good they can't ignore you path. But like, what's going on in my mind is how can we crossrain someone on what Robert knows so that we're not in this situation?”
Passing
“So, you have to literally live up to Cal Newport in So Good They Can't Ignore You.”
Plugged
“I don't know when he did this thing but I cited it back in so good they can't ignore you which was 2012”
Plugged
“so then I wrote a book that was that first idea hard cover book was called so good they can't ignore you based off of the Steve Martin quote”
Plugged
“which as you know is influential for me I mean I wrote a book called so good they can't ignore you”
Plugged
“As I discuss in 'So Good They Can't Ignore You,' we struggle with this.”
Plugged
“One of the stories I suggested in that book, which I think is likely relevant to what many people are about to do, was about a successful ad executive who was feeling overwhelmed by work.”
Plugged
“The core moral of that book is that when considering what makes a job great, you must think about it from a market economy perspective. The traits that make great work great are rare and valuable.”
Plugged
“I think suddenly that book is more relevant now than it has been recently because everyone is contemplating these kinds of transitions.”
Plugged
“And I think that's the other hard, I call it the autonomy traps in that old 2012 book. It's the dichotomy.”
Plugged
“then i published this book so good they can't ignore you which came out in 2012”
Passing
“so good they can't ignore you uh and most recently digital minimalism”