Brad Mathas is unequivocal when it comes to success as an athlete.
"It simply depends on how much you want it."
There's a purposefulness about the Wanganui runner that leaves you in no doubt he wants it very badly.
In the case of this self-assured and fiercely-determined 18-year-old, "it" is an Olympic gold medal. Nothing more, nothing less.
It seems the tall, sinewy athlete has dedicated his life to this glorious pursuit.
"There is no shortcut, you have to put the training in," he says with the certainty of a man who is out doing the hard yards six days a week.
Mathas has just finished his time at Cullinane College, having wrapped up his school career by retaining the New Zealand secondary schools 800m title at Wellington last month. His time was a personal best of 1 minute 50.24 seconds - a championship record and a world junior B qualifying mark.
It was also a second faster than his time when he won the schools title 12 months ago in Hastings.
Getting faster is important, but sometimes winning gets in the way ...
In the Wellington final he was up against Julian Oakley of Tauranga Boys High. As Oakley is the son of squash legend Dame Susan Devoy, the showdown picked up a bit of media interest.
But the hype was something both could have done without. While tough competition brings out the best in an athlete, Mathas reckons he could have run faster had it not been for the need to race tactically to beat a strong opponent.
Indeed, Mathas says he is capable of running 800m in 1:48 or even 1:47.
That is not arrogance; it is a reflection of the steely single-mindedness of the young man.
Mathas uses the phrase "my choice" quite a bit. It is his choice not to have a social life; it was his choice to give up soccer (he was/is very good, apparently, and a Manchester United fan); it was his choice to give up rugby (a more-than-useful No8, by all accounts).
"Yeah - I've put all my eggs in one basket," he says.
There's no sense of regret. "I enjoy training and competing - and you can't beat the feeling of winning, unless it's doing a personal best."
Mathas' best of 1:50.24 puts him top of New Zealand's under-19 rankings and second only at senior level to Olympic 1500m silver medallist Nick Willis. Oakley has run the same time but Mathas has the faster second best effort.
Inevitably, it's a big year ahead for the runner - and for the man who has guided him for the past six years.
Every year Mathas and coach Alan Rubick plan their goals.
There are "realistic goals" and there are "dream goals".
On the reality front is the world junior championships in Barcelona in July. Mathas needs to clock 1:49.50 to ink in that date in his diary.
This year's "dream" doesn't lack for ambition - the London Olympics.
The 800m qualifying time for the Games is 1:46 and the pair are not ruling out the possibility.
More likely are the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Olympics in Rio in 2016 when Mathas will be 23.
That's not a bad age to be peaking as an 800m runner - 23-year-old Kenyan David Rudisha holds the world record with a formidable 1:41.01 and has run four of the 10 fastest times for the event.
On the immediate horizon are the Cooks Classic meeting in Wanganui later this month, a race on grass at Christ College, Christchurch, on February 4 and a guest spot at the Australian Olympic trials in Melbourne, also in February.
Having left school, Mathas is doing a sport and exercise degree at Massey University. He is studying by correspondence so he can stay in Wanganui - his family is here, the Cooks Gardens track is here, "and Alan's here".
Mathas is a willing victim of Rubick's tough training regime, running distances from 200m up to 14km and out twice a day, six days a week.
He must look forward to Sundays? "Yes, I just relax ... and sleep."