Robin, the business development director for a Salem-based Oregon general contractor, told Session 4B of the Leadership Development Lab:

"In October 1969, I was 15 years old and I had just been certified as the youngest ski instructor ever at Timberline Lodge. I had begun skiing at the age of 10 and from the very first day I wanted to become a ski instructor. I held the picture of being a ski instructor in my heart and head. Every season I got a little better, my repertoire of techniques continued to grow, and I got physically stronger every weekend. During the ski season I practiced for 8 hours, 3 days a week. I practiced until I had blisters on my shins. The blisters bled and then scabbed over. My ski pants were wet with blood. I still have the scars on my shins to remind me of one of my proudest achievement. To my knowledge, I am still the only Timberline Lodge ski instructor that started instructing at the age of 15.

The lesson I learned from this experience is the importance of forming a clear picture of my goals in my mind, of holding those pictures in my heart and following a plan, a regiment with persistent action in the pursuit of my goals. I learned that there will always be plenty of people around to tell me I can’t do what I set out to do. I learned the importance of being the little engine that said she could. The action I call you to take is to be persistent in the pursuit of your goals, decide what you want, set an intention, hold a picture in your mind and then go to work to achieve your heart’s desire. When it gets tough, don’t give up. The benefit you will gain is true self-confidence and a

great sense of self-satisfaction and personal fulfillment. You will be proud of your achievements and confident about your future."

"The secret of success is to decide what you want out of life and go about gathering together the means and materials by which to achieve that end."

Clarity of purpose is, without question, the secret of achieving success – no matter how you define success. Webster defines success as: "The progressive realization of some worthwhile goal."

Psychologist and author Denis Waitley notes, "All winners set goals. Corporations and institutions have clearly defined plans, but only top achievers in life seem to have adopted the same kind of game plan in their own personal lives.

"We must see that we don’t run out of goals and wants, so that we always have something new and exciting to plan and work for. We need that "carrot on a stick." If you plan to be less than you are capable of being, you’ll be unhappy all of your life."

"A want that is satisfied is no longer a want. To be healthy and fully alive you need new goals and wants. Goals fill our lives with excitement. Remember your first car? Your first home or apartment? How full of excitement and anticipation you were! But after you have achieved these things, the car is three years old, the house is ten years old, the excitement fades and these things seem everyday. So sit down and make a new want list!"