Summary

At the beginning of the chapter, Duckworth discusses the advice, often heard at commencement speeches, to follow one's passion. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz followed this advice to reach professional success. Duckworth contrasts this advice with that given to her by her father while she was growing up. He told her that following her passion would lead to "poverty and disappointment" (96). Duckworth, however, cites evidence that people are far more satisfied with their jobs and perform better when they are interested in what they do. However, data show that only 13% of adults worldwide are interested in their work (98).

In the next section, Duckworth discusses how hard it is to find one's interest. She believes young people would want to follow their passion if they could find it. Though some people discover their...