I would encourage you to set really high goals. Set goals that

The words of Katie Ledecky — “I would encourage you to set really high goals. Set goals that, when you set them, you think they're impossible. But then every day you can work towards them, and anything is possible, so keep working hard and follow your dreams.” — shine with the light of perseverance and humility. They are the words of a champion who has felt the weight of water pressing against her body, who has battled fatigue and fear, and who has learned that greatness is not born of ease, but of vision and relentless effort. In this teaching, Ledecky reveals an eternal truth known to both athletes and sages: that the impossible becomes possible through daily devotion, and that the highest mountains are conquered not by leaps, but by steps.

To set goals that seem impossible is to declare war upon limitation. It is to look the impossible in the eye and say, “You will not remain so forever.” Such courage has guided humankind since the beginning of time. The builders of the pyramids, the voyagers who sailed across unknown seas, the dreamers who reached for the stars — all began with a vision that seemed beyond reach. Yet, in the slow and steady rhythm of effort, the unimaginable became real. Katie Ledecky, though she speaks as an athlete, speaks also as a philosopher of endurance: she teaches that human potential is not unlocked by comfort, but by the will to keep swimming when the tide resists.

Consider Ledecky’s own journey. At just fifteen years old, she entered the 2012 Olympics as an unknown name — a young girl facing the greatest swimmers in the world. Few believed she could win; even fewer thought she could set a record. But her heart burned with quiet certainty, forged by years of practice, discipline, and belief in the impossible. She not only won the gold medal — she shattered the American record. In that moment, she embodied her own wisdom: to aim so high that it frightens you, and then to meet fear with daily labor until it yields to triumph. Her victories in the pool are not miracles; they are the natural harvest of endless perseverance.

Yet Ledecky’s words go beyond competition. They speak to every human heart that has ever dared to dream. For when we set high goals, we stretch the boundaries of who we are. Even if we do not reach the summit, we rise higher than we thought possible. But she also warns us of a subtler truth — that it is not only the goal that matters, but the journey toward it. “Every day you can work towards them,” she says, reminding us that greatness is not a single act of glory, but a thousand small acts of effort. The dream may seem distant, but each day brings us closer. The impossible, when faced daily, becomes inevitable.

In her words, there is also a call to joy. “Have fun,” she often says elsewhere, echoing the same spirit here. The pursuit of excellence must not become a burden, for joy is the fuel of persistence. The ancient philosophers called this eudaimonia — the deep happiness found in fulfilling one’s potential. To work hard toward your dreams is not punishment, but privilege. It is the sacred dance between vision and action, between what you are and what you are becoming. In that effort lies the sweetness of life — the joy of knowing that you are alive, striving, growing, and transforming.

History itself sings this truth. When Michelangelo lay on his back painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, his arms ached, his eyes burned, and his soul wavered under the enormity of his task. But he pressed on, day after day, brushstroke by brushstroke, until heaven itself seemed to bloom upon stone. His goals were impossible — yet his daily effort made them real. In every field, the pattern is the same: from the swimmer slicing through waves to the artist reaching toward eternity, the divine secret is persistence.

So, O listener of wisdom, learn from Katie Ledecky’s teaching. Set goals so high that they make you tremble, for trembling means you are alive, reaching beyond the confines of the ordinary. Do not fear the distance between who you are and who you wish to be. That distance is not a void — it is the path. Walk it with patience, with joy, and with faith in the work. For as Ledecky shows, the key is not talent, nor luck, but the unyielding rhythm of effort. Dream boldly, labor daily, and the impossible will, in time, bow to your perseverance.