I have long admired David Brooks for his clear, moderate thinking on a number of issues. Recently I read this article that he wrote about "The Art of Focus." In the article Brooks challenges the age-old (and valuable) adage that we need to simplify our lives, stop multi-tasking, and focus on doing a few things well. The problem, Brooks points out, is that we just don't do well at following that advice.
So Brooks looks elsewhere for a model to follow. He looks to children. Brooks states:
The lesson from childhood [...] is that if you want to win the war for attention, don’t try to say “no” to the trivial distractions you find on the information smorgasbord; try to say “yes” to the subject that arouses a terrifying longing, and let the terrifying longing crowd out everything else.
While I believe that there is much to be said for simplifying life, I also believe that the real secret to success is to find something about which you can feel passionate.