“I often stopped and stared, mesmerized by those mountains. What would it be like to stand on their summits and gaze across entire continents? I wanted to find out.”

Long before he ever climbed a mountain, Jordan was captivated by the idea of climbing one and making it to the summit. Passing by this mural at his school every day for years, he felt like the pull of the mountains. Jordan is more persistent than most, and The Power of Setting and Achieving Goals is something he takes great pride in.

“Let’s look at this one mountain at a time.”

When Karen tells Jordan to take each mountain one at a time, it is also a metaphor for how to successfully approach setting and achieving goals without becoming overwhelmed and feeling the need to give up. She helps prevent Jordan from getting ahead of himself or from taking on too much at once, emphasizing the importance of focusing on one goal at a time to reach his overall objective, supporting The Power of Setting and Achieving Goals as a theme.

“I kept my eye on the summit. Seeing my goal within reach gave me a boost of energy.”

During his practice climb before leaving for Tanzania, Jordan finds that keeping his eye on the immediate goal of the summit when it is in sight is what keeps him going during the final stretch, when the air thins and energy wanes.