TMBA 381: A Conversation with Cal Newport

A green coast guard house and people on the beach

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If you are anything like Dan and Ian, then you have likely spent years geeking out on the writings of this week's guest.

Cal Newport is a computer science professor. He's also had a blog on his website since 2007, and has been writing books since he was in college. His most recent is called Deep Work, which is about the benefits and practical steps to getting more done in the Internet age.

This interview covers a wide range of subjects, including distributed algorithms at the extremes, how Cal uses walking to enhance his productivity and why creativity is usually more workmanlike than most people give it credit for.

Listen to this week's show and learn:

  • Why creativity is less about serendipity and more about putting the hours in. (11:20)

  • What Cal thinks that the majority of us are getting wrong in the digital age. (15:44)

  • Why you shouldn't always follow your passion. (23:22)

  • What it means to generate "career capital". (31:06)

  • What qualifies as deep work. (47:09)

Mentioned in the episode:

TMBA Masterminds
Sponsor the TMBA Podcast
The Dynamite Circle
The DC Podcast
Cal Newport
Deep Work by Cal Newport
So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport
Chuck Close
Facebook Phreaks and the Fight to Reclaim Time and Attention
Slack
Tim Ferriss
The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
Stuart Kauffman
How Cal Newport's Deep Work Concept will Influence Office Design

Enjoyed this podcast? Check out these:

TMBA 325: A Conversation With Ribbonfarm's Venkat Rao
TMBA 360: Clay Collins and The Unraveling Marketing Stack
TMBA 366: A Conversation with Ricardo Semler

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HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SHOW?

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Thanks for listening to our show! We'll be back next Thursday morning 8AM EST.

Cheers,

Dan & Ian

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