There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.

Hill’s line condenses a central premise of early 20th‑century American success literature: achievement begins not with talent or luck but with a sharply defined aim. “Definiteness of purpose” implies more than optimism—it is a concrete, chosen objective that organizes attention and effort. The “knowledge of what one wants” stresses clarity and self-direction, while the “burning desire” component adds emotional intensity, suggesting that sustained motivation is what carries a person through setbacks and monotony. Read critically, the quote also reflects Hill’s tendency to moralize success as a matter of inner will, downplaying structural constraints; its power lies in its rhetorical insistence that focus and desire are prerequisites for winning.