In the book by William Thayer published in 1897

"Archbishop Leighton said, "To him that knoweth not the port to which he is bound, no wind can be favorable." One wind is about as good for him as another. He may be well equipped, a good craft, sails set, ballast right, cargo well packed; but he wants somewhere to go, a port to enter. All his activity and preparation are useless without a purpose. A ship without a rudder, chart, compass, on a tactless sea, tossed about like a cockle-shell by wind and wave, is an apt symbol of thousands of youths who undertake to cross the ocean of life without a definite aim. They are more likely to make the ship wreck that to find safety in the harbor. 

By singleness of purpose we mean an early decision to follow a certain occupation or profession as a life-work, keeping that object constantly in view, true as the needle to the North Pole, and pushing for it through sunshine and storm to the goal. 

Mark says don't be a drifter. Have a purpose and a plan. Set your goals just above reach and go after them with vigor. Do not take your eye off them. Write them down, read them often and adjust those that fall off due to circumstances beyond your control when they are positively unattainable. Replace them with new ones. Keep your mind free of the negative thoughts that enter it and replace those thoughts with action and thinking that affirms your future. 

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