Ep. 389: Is the Internet Hijacking Ambition? + Escaping Messaging Hell

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Self-improvement, Technology, Education

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2026

⏱️ 108 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s natural to feel ambition, as we’re wired to find great satisfaction in accomplishing hard goals. But what impact has the internet had on this instinct? To help explore this question, author Brad Stulberg, author of the new book THE WAY OF EXCELLENCE, joins Cal during the ideas segment to explore ways in which the internet hijacks our drive, and what we can do about it. Then, in the practice segment, Cal provides the 2026 of his evolving advice for escaping email and IM overload in your job. 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 IDEAS SEGMENT: Is the internet hijacking ambition? [4:16] PRACTICES SEGMENT: Escaping messaging hell [1:03:06] QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: Have new AI tools actually been as transformative as claimed? [1:23:49] CAL RESPONDS TO COMMENTS [1:38:15] WHAT CAL’S READING: Cal gives his weekly reading update [1:44:52] Future Boy (Michael J. Fox)The Unauthorized Story of Disney’s Haunted Mansion (Jeff Baham) Links:Get The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0063385945/ref=sw_img_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slowGet a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-school-with-shilo-brooks/id1841566275instagram.com/p/DFh_mNGSvuZ/?img_index=2microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/breaking-down-infinite-workdayreddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1o2g1xq/with_all_the_billions_trillions_going_into_it/calnewport.com/a-world-without-email/ Thanks to our Sponsors: mybodytutor.commonarch.com (Use code “DEEP”)pipedrive.com/deepmeetfabric.com/deep Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Let's talk about ambition.
0:02.4	We all have an instinct to want to accomplish things that are hard and impressive.
0:06.2	This is something that comes from our Paleolithic genes.
0:09.2	Impress your tribe so that you'll get more opportunities for food and for mates.
0:13.4	But regardless of the source, this impulse is strong, and if you can integrate it into your life, you are going to feel more satisfied.
0:22.0	So here's a question I've been thinking about a lot lately. What's the impact of the
0:27.1	internet on our ambition instinct? Now, there are two possible stories to be told in answering
0:33.2	this question. The first story is positive. The best way to support your ambition is to surround
0:37.8	yourself by people with a similar vision, and the internet makes it possible to find and
0:42.1	create virtual tribes centered on whatever it is you care about. Let's do an example here.
0:48.8	Let's say, like, you're a young man who aspires to be a serious reader. Thirty years ago, you might be living in a small
0:56.6	town and not know a single other guy who reads beyond the occasional Grisham or Clancy
1:01.1	novel, but now you could, for example, listen to a podcast like Old School, which is
1:07.6	hosted by Shiloh Brooks, and each week features well-known men discussing books that
1:11.9	changed their lives. Like, look, I'll bring this up on the screen here for people who are
1:15.2	watching. Look at these conversations. America's Most Righteous War produced its best
1:20.4	anti-war novel. Why Middle March changed this Catholic priest life? Read this book instead of
1:25.9	Catcher in the Rye, George Orwell's Lessons on the
1:28.0	Class Divide, and so on, right? This would now make it possible for you to actually surround
1:32.9	yourself with people who care about reading. That's pretty amazing. But there's a second
1:37.4	story about the internet and ambition, that there are whole corners of the internet that play
1:42.3	on your instinct for ambition but leads you to weird
	...

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