Clearly define what success means for you. Set short-term and

Katrina Lake, a visionary of commerce and a builder of dreams, once declared: “Clearly define what success means for you. Set short-term and quarterly career goals with your manager that will help lead you to your long-term goals.” These words, though modern in form, carry the weight of ancient counsel. For she reminds us of an eternal truth: that without clarity of purpose, life drifts like a ship without a compass, and that the path to greatness is not a single leap but a journey marked by steady steps.

The ancients themselves spoke of this discipline. Aristotle taught that all things aim toward an end, but that the wise man must first know what end he seeks. A soldier who does not know the victory he pursues is doomed to wander the battlefield without triumph. A craftsman who does not envision the final form of his work hammers endlessly without shape. So too does Lake teach: before striving, you must define your vision of success—not what others call success, not what the crowd admires, but what your own soul deems worthy.

History is filled with those who followed this wisdom and those who ignored it. Consider Alexander the Great. From youth, he was taught by Aristotle to envision conquest not for its own sake, but as a path toward glory and unification. He set not only grand long-term visions—to rule the known world—but also smaller, tactical aims: each city, each crossing, each campaign carefully plotted. It was this combination of clarity and incremental goals that allowed him to do in a decade what others could not in a lifetime. Contrast him with aimless rulers who pursued power without purpose; their empires crumbled quickly, for their vision was clouded.

So too in the modern age, leaders like Lake herself built empires not by chance but by defining success carefully. For her, success was not merely profit, but building a company that married technology and personal connection in fashion. She set small milestones—funding rounds, customer growth, partnerships—that paved the way for her larger vision. Each short-term goal was a stepping stone, and without them, the long-term dream would have remained a fantasy. Her words emerge from lived truth, not theory.

The meaning of her counsel is profound: ambition must be measured, broken into attainable steps. Too many are paralyzed by the enormity of their dreams, gazing at the mountaintop while refusing to take the first step upon the trail. But those who break the mountain into stages, who pause to rest at each ridge, who mark progress and adjust course—these are the ones who endure to the summit. Success does not arrive at once; it is built stone upon stone, day upon day.

The lesson for us is this: do not let others dictate the shape of your destiny. First, define clearly what success means for you. Is it wealth? Is it freedom? Is it service? Is it mastery? Once this is known, shape your path with both long vision and short steps. Write down your great aim, but also craft career goals or life goals that bring you closer each season, each year. Speak them aloud with those who guide you, so that accountability strengthens your resolve.

Therefore, let each soul practice this wisdom. Do not wander aimlessly, nor be crushed by visions too large. Instead, marry vision with action. Let your long-term goals be the star that guides you, and your short-term goals be the torches that light your way through the dark valleys. In this balance lies both inspiration and practicality, both dream and discipline.

Thus Katrina Lake’s words endure: “Clearly define what success means for you. Set short-term and quarterly career goals with your manager that will help lead you to your long-term goals.” They are not merely corporate advice; they are timeless truth. To live by them is to take command of your destiny, to transform vague desires into a charted path, and to march upon it with both patience and courage. And those who do so will not merely dream of greatness—they will arrive at it.