Having your excellence speak for you — My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle

Cal Newport, Full Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and author of So Good They Can't Ignore You

Listen to this interview to learn

How “follow your passion” can be counterproductive advice.
The two prime characteristics of the most marketable skills.
Why “mission” creates meaning and opportunities for leverage if sequenced properly.
That the solution to a mystery is not that complex, unless we oversimplify or overcomplicate it.
Key steps to selling more than 120,000 copies of his first 3 books.

Expert Bio

Cal Newport is a Full Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and a New York Times bestselling author. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2009 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 2004.

Newport is the author of nine books on the intersection of work, technology, and deep focus — including Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, A World Without Email, and his most recent, Slow Productivity (2024). His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker (as a staff contributor since 2021), and WIRED.

He also hosts the Deep Questions podcast, where he explores strategies for working deeply and with intention in a distracted world. Notably, Cal has never had a social media account — a deliberate stance he writes and speaks about extensively.

Contact Info for Cal Newport

Primary website: CalNewport.com
Podcast & media hub: TheDeepLife.com
Social media: None — Cal Newport has deliberately never joined any social media platform.
Travels from: Washington, D.C.