logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
1h 44m

Ep. 249: The Good Enough Job (w/ Simone ...

CAL NEWPORT
About this episode

Do you live to work or work to live? In this episode, Cal talks with author Simone Stolfzoff about his provocative new book, THE GOOD ENOUGH JOB. Cal then answers listener questions about escaping professional unhappiness, and then switches gears in the Something Interesting segment to talk about the critical technological breakthrough that not enough people yet are talking about. 

 

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo 

 

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia 

 

DEEP DIVE: Cal talks about the Good Enough Job with author Simone Stolzoff [4:39] 

 

- What kind of a job do I want? [59:31] 

- If I enjoy my job, why can’t I focus? [1:05:28] 

- Should I give up on finding an academic job? [1:17:23] 

- Should I cut my salary in half to escape the hyperactive hive mind? [1:25:07] 

 

SOMETHING INTERESTING: Apple’s most interesting new tech strategy has nothing to do with A.I. [1:34:41] 

 

Links: 

 

wsj.com/articles/apple-is-breaking-its-own-rules-with-a-new-headset-80c9b36c 

 

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

 

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at 

betterhelp.com/deepquestions 

 

ladderlife.com/deep 

expressvpn.com/deep 

80000hours.org/deep 

 

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Up next
Oct 6
Ep. 373: The Internet’s Best Advice for Reinventing Your Life
In 2023, I published an episode about resetting your life that became one of my most popular. In the years since, multiple major podcasters and YouTubers have done their own videos on the same theme. In today’s episode, I extract the best ideas from five such recent videos to cre ... Show More
1h 36m
Sep 29
Ep. 372: Decoding TikTok’s Algorithm
Last week, it was announced that Oracle would take over operation of TikTok in the US. One of the primary reasons proposed for this deal is that it was in national interests for us to take over control of TikTok’s fabled “algorithm.” But what is this algorithm? How does it work? ... Show More
1h 26m
Sep 25
IN-DEPTH: Focus like a Nobel Prize Winner (w/ Brian Keating)
In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by Dr. Brian Keating, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Physics at UCSD, and one of the most prolific popularizers of science around (you may have seen him recently chatting about cosmology with Joe Rogan and Andrew Huberman). ... Show More
1h 4m
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
#299 Steve Jobs (Make Something Wonderful)
What I learned from reading Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.comYou can read, reread, and search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast. Yo ... Show More
2 h
Feb 2024
Tech Workers Are Stressed Out
tech companies seemed immune to large-scale layoffs, and as their profits skyrocketed, those cushy jobs became highly sought-after. But economic headwinds, and the looming influence of AI, are leading to some tumultuous changes in the tech industry.In just the first seven weeks o ... Show More
31m 38s
Jun 2022
#249 Steve Jobs In His Own Words
What I learned from reading I, Steve: Steve Jobs In His Own Words by George Beahm.[1:05]On Steve Jobs#5 Steve Jobs: The Biography #19 Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader #76 Return To The Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs and The Creation of ... Show More
49m 34s
Sep 2023
673: Getting Hired, Interviewing, and Why Recruiters Suck with Taylor Desseyn
In this supper club episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott talk with Taylor Desseyn about his work as a job recruiter, how hiring has changed over the last few years, what soft and tech skills developers need, what not to do when applying, and how AI is affecting the hiring process. Sh ... Show More
56m 19s
Jan 2023
Leveraging mentors to uplevel your career | Jules Walter (YouTube, Slack)
Jules Walter is a product leader at YouTube and co-founder of both the Black Product Managers Network and Codepath.org. Previously, he led monetization and mobile growth teams at Slack. He’s also a very well-known leader in the broader product community. In today’s episode, we di ... Show More
1h 10m
Jul 2021
078: There and Back (and Forward) Again with Bob Baxley
Bob Baxley, a Silicon Valley pioneer, takes us back in time through the history of Silicon Valley and gives us a glimpse into the future of it. Spoiler alert: He's got concerns. He reveals how every little interaction matters and motivates us to be proud enough of the work we do ... Show More
2h 13m
Sep 2021
#204 Steve Jobs (Inside Steve's Brain)
What I learned from reading Inside Steve's Brian by Leander Kahney.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium  Subscribers can: -ask me q ... Show More
58m 50s
Dec 2022
Countdown of the top 10 episodes of the year
If you ever wanted to distill 3,310 hours of knowledge into 60 minutes, then this episode is for you. For the last 6 months, Lenny’s Podcast has been downloaded more than 2 million times and is now a top 10 technology podcast across both Apple and Spotify. And in this special epi ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2022
How to fire people with grace, work through fear, and nurture innovation | Matt Mochary (CEO coach)
Matt Mochary, CEO of Mochary Method, is a full-time executive coach who has worked with some of the biggest names in tech and finance, including investor Naval Ravikant and the CEOs of Notion, OpenAI, Coinbase, Reddit, and many others. In today’s podcast, we talk about the skill ... Show More
1h 11m