Quotes from David Zweig

an oft-cited 2010 study on self-esteem, its authors found that college students would rather receive praise than have sex. A

Nearly everyone I know under forty (including myself) it now seems is some combination of amateur photographer, DJ, filmmaker, writer, and craft maker of some sort. Much of what's produced is good, but few devote the necessary time to make something truly great.

In fact, Invisibles are found in all walks of life. What binds them is their approach—deriving satisfaction from the value of their work, not the volume of their praise.

Praise can be hard to come by and fleeting when you do get it but no one can take away pride from, and engagement in, hard work.

As I researched an article for The Atlantic that served as a launch point for this book, speaking to many people, characteristics of Invisibles began to crystallize. Fascinatingly, I found they all consistently embody Three Traits: 1) Ambivalence toward recognition 2) Meticulousness 3) Savoring of responsibility

But if you come to define success, in both business and in life, as philosophers and religions have for millennia, by the satisfaction derived from work itself and not the degree of attention you receive for it, people like Johns and Canby—the Invisibles—offer a model you would do well to follow. Ask yourself: Do I want to be on a treadmill of competition with others, or do I want to find lasting reward by challenging myself?

You stay calm and make it happen.