This weeks reading was one of the more fascinating pieces I have read this semester, truely highlighting the inner mindsets of myself and of us; the Media 6 undergraduates, who are looking at the world and contemplating how we are going to shape a career from what they have learnt from our years at university. Cal Newports ‘The Clarity of the Craftsman’ presented the ideas of there being two mindsets, the “craftsmen mindset” and the “passion mindset”, comparing the two and how both play very different roles in shaping how a person can view and create a successful career for themselves.

When looking at these two mindsets newport notes that like Jordan, the craftsmen mindset focuses on how you can work hard, and continue to master your skills in a chosen profession and you will be successful. The use of Steve Martin and his interview on how he became so successful was very fascinating in how people chose to ignore him because they didn’t like the advice he gave which was” too become so good at your craft that people can’t ignore you”. Where as the passion mindset has you asking what the world can offer you, instead of what you can offer the world and wither or not your career path is one you are truly happy with, forcing you to focus on the negative and have you questioning and unsure about your career, instead of becoming great in your chosen profession.

As a media student and coming from what I have chosen to study I find this very interesting in the fact that this field requires you to stay on top of your practice and to try and get ahead of the others, becoming successful in your own right, by being the very best you can be. Whilst that is very scary and you still do not wish to be stuck in a mundane job you hate, I find it very interesting to get an insight into these mindsets and start to really consider how I want to break into the working industry.

Cal Newport, 2012, ‘The Clarity of the Craftsman’ in So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work, NY Business Plus, ch.4.