#42: Your most valuable asset isn’t your house, car or retirement portfolio. It’s your attention. Most knowledge workers spend their day frantically hopping between meetings, emails, phone calls and social media. But that’s not the best way to stand out in the modern economy. Emails are necessary, says author and professor Cal Newport. They’ll keep you from getting fired. But they won’t get you promoted. In fact, his Deep Work Hypothesis states that the ability to do deep work is becoming more rare, yet at the same time, more valuable. That means if you can train your mind to resist the common distractions we all face, you’ll become more valuable in the workplace, whether you’re self-employed or traditionally employed. The problem, however, is that most of us are intimidated by deep work. We welcome distractions from difficult tasks that take a toll on our brain power. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/cal-newport/