Peak performance experts say things like, “You should focus. You need to eliminate the distractions. Commit to one thing and become great at that thing.”

This is good advice. The more I study successful people from all walks of life—artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, scientists—the more I believe focus is a core factor of success.

But there is a problem with this advice too.

Of the many options in front of you, how do you know what to focus on? How do you know where to direct your energy and attention? How do you determine the one thing that you should commit to doing?

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but let me share what I’ve learned so far.

“Until Something Comes Easily…”

Like most entrepreneurs, I struggled through my first year of building a business.

I launched my first product without having any idea who I would sell it to. (Big surprise, nobody bought it.) I reached out to important people, mismanaged expectations, made stupid mistakes, and essentially ruined the chance to build good relationships with people I respected. I attempted to teach myself how to code, made one change to my website, and deleted everything I had done during the previous three months.

To put it simply, I didn't know what I was doing.

During my Year of Many Errors I received a good piece of advice: “Try things until something comes easily.” I took the advice to heart and tried four or five different business ideas over the next 18 months. I'd give each one a shot for two or three months, mix in a little bit of freelance work so I could continue scraping by and paying the bills, and repeat the process.

Eventually, I found “something that came easily” and I was able to focus on building one business rather than trying to find an idea. In other words, I was able to simplify.

This was the first thing I discovered about figuring out what to focus on. If you want to master and deeply understand the core fundamentals of a task you may, paradoxically, need to start by casting a very wide net. By trying many different things, you can get a sense of what comes more easily to you and set yourself up for success. It is much easier to focus on something that's working than struggle along with a bad idea.

Make a Call About What to Focus On

Assuming you're willing to try things and experiment a bit, the next question is, “How do I know what's coming easily to me?”

The best answer I can give is to pay attention. Usually, this means measuring something.

• If you're an entrepreneur, track your marketing and promotion efforts.
• If you're trying to gain muscle, track your workouts.
• If you're learning an instrument, track your practice sessions.