No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your

Hear, O seeker of greatness, the words of Jessica Savitch, the trailblazing journalist whose voice carried truth and courage: “No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” In this teaching lies the essence of human progress—that achievement is not the end of the journey but the beginning of new horizons. For to rest upon past victories is to wither, but to rise again in pursuit of greater things is to remain alive in spirit and purpose.

To reach a goal is noble, but it is also dangerous if treated as final. The mountain climber who conquers one peak may be tempted to pitch his tent and dwell in comfort. Yet the true climber looks to the next summit, for beyond every height there is a higher one still. So it is with the soul: if it ceases to strive, it ceases to grow. Savitch’s words are a reminder that the path of excellence is endless, and the pursuit of greater visions must never cease.

Consider the story of Thomas Jefferson. He drafted the Declaration of Independence—a triumph that might have sufficed for any man. Yet he did not stop there. He went on to establish the University of Virginia, to expand the frontiers of knowledge, and to serve as president. His life testifies to the truth of Savitch’s words: achieved goals are not resting places, but stepping-stones to higher ones.

So too in the life of Helen Keller. To learn her first word—water—was a miracle, a goal that seemed insurmountable. Yet she did not stop. She set her sights on literacy, then on education, then on advocacy for the disabled and the oppressed. Each achievement became a foundation for the next. Her life was a living echo of this teaching: to aim higher, always higher, until one’s life becomes a beacon for others.

The meaning is clear: the human spirit is not made for stagnation. Satisfaction is sweet, but dangerous if it becomes permanent. The flame of ambition must be kept alive, not in greed, but in the pursuit of growth, service, and excellence. Each new goal challenges the soul to expand its strength, its wisdom, its compassion. Without new goals, we wither into complacency; with them, we rise into greatness.

O listener, take this counsel to heart. When you achieve a victory, rejoice in it, but do not cling to it. Lift your eyes again to a higher vision. If you have mastered one craft, seek to deepen it or to learn another. If you have attained comfort, seek to serve those who still struggle. If you have grown in knowledge, aim now for wisdom. Let no achievement be your tombstone, but let each be a stepping-stone to something greater.

Therefore, let this be your charge: set your sights always higher. Do not fear the labor of new goals, for they are the breath of life. Live as one who climbs, not as one who rests. For the summit of one mountain is but the base of the next, and the journey upward is the destiny of every noble soul.

Thus the words of Jessica Savitch endure: “No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” Let this truth guide you, so that your life may be a continual rising, a song of endless striving, until you leave behind not a single victory, but a legacy of unceasing greatness.