“Keep thinking big and big things will happen.” That’s just one gem Peter Schiefke had to offer the participants. In his candid address, Peter outlined the challenges behind some of his most successful initiatives which include The Flag Project, Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program and the 1% Campaign.

Candidly, he told stories of perseverance, hard work, trying, planning, failing and trying again. “For every project that has succeeded,” he said “many others have failed. Sometimes they have failed spectacularly,” he admitted. He provided leads on how to garner support for an idea, how to secure funding and how to overcome objections. He encouraged participants to dare take “a shot in the dark” when approaching big name speakers and shared this advice for young leaders:

• Share ownership of your idea. When people share ownership they fight to accomplish the objective.
• Make your idea public as soon as possible. Collaborators will come forward to help and support.
• Have a keen ability to adapt.
• Be vigilant and aware that we are part of a movement to which many people are opposed.
• Understand that your projects will take time, maybe years to properly implement. Be prepared to give it the time and effort necessary to implement it properly.
• Remember what you have learned and who you have met. “Your best resource going forward are the people sitting next to you.”

In closing, he encouraged all present to tape to their desks this quote from Winston Churchill: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Explaining further, Peter said: “You may experience roadblocks and hurdles along the way but the important things are worth fighting for.”

In the Q& A session, Peter said, “this conference is nothing short of incredible and I was blown away by the level of discussion.” He added, “The 200 people here today are the best resource I have ever seen at a conference” and proceeded to invite the students to apply to become Climate Project Canada Trainees and to stay in touch with him personally.