From Navigating The Skies To Reporting The News, Leland Vittert Says Set Long-Term Goals

He didn’t speak until he was three. He was bullied for being different. Diagnosed on the autism spectrum, Leland Vittert was once the kid left out, misunderstood, underestimated. Today, he’s the one asking the tough questions on national television—broadcasting from war zones, pressing political leaders, and keeping his cool when chaos unfolds live.

That remarkable transformation didn’t happen by accident. It happened because Vittert learned early on that greatness is charted like a flight plan, with long-term goals and relentless determination. Before he dreamed of news desks and breaking stories, he dreamed of cockpits and coast-to-coast solo flights (even before 10 years old!). And in both arenas, his strategy remained the same: think big, stay the course, and never quit.

Vittert’s determination was stoked by his father. The two would eat breakfast together every morning before school, talking about everything from politics to flight plans to planning for the future. “Don’t set a goal for what you want to do next. Set a goal for what you want to do in five or 10 years,” explained Vittert on a recent podcast. “My goal wasn’t to start flying lessons. My goal was to be the youngest to fly across the country and then fly across the Atlantic.”

For Vittert, who just released his memoir, Born Lucky, the advantage to setting long-term ambitions is that you can chart a clear course to achieve them. “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line,” said the NewsNation anchor. “And it’s really easy to figure out, if you have a long term goal, all these intermediary steps on that line. If the step is on the line, then you work hard to get that next step. And if it’s not on the line, you can totally forget it.”

Vittert has long seen the world in his own way. That’s what comes from growing up differently. To help his son achieve his dreams, Vittert’s father Mark sold his company and dedicated his life to being there for his boy, waiting for him at the end of the driveway every day after school. That was when they started on their long-term goals—together. The two would study social cues and Vittert would even do 200 pushups every day to ward off bullies.

His father’s values, which included patience, dedication and self-respect, had a tremendous effect on Vittert’s life. Perhaps above all else, he stressed that self-assurance comes from the inside, not outside factors. Armed with that, Vittert was able to make his way in a world that wasn’t always created with him in mind. His father also eschewed press and media interviews for the sake of keeping his son focused on the task at hand—learning to fly.

While Vittert never became the youngest pilot to traverse the United States, he has achieved many remarkable things in journalism, including reporting from the White House lawn and sparring with major political leaders. His lofty achievements are the result of a never-say-die attitude. “Things can change, the momentum can change,” Vittert said. “But if you keep just working incredibly hard, it’s very hard to beat a man who won’t quit.”

That ethos can be observed in other fields, too, from business to athletics. For example, the world’s No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, perhaps most clearly embodies this in 2025. The reigning PGA and Open champion is known as a fierce competitor amongst his peers on the links. It’s a key reason why he stands at the top of his field today. “The guy’s relentless,” fellow golfer Sepp Straka explained to ESPN about Scheffler.

Similarly, EF World Journeys CEO Heidi Durflinger knows that success requires a keen focus. Like Vittert, she believes that achieving a goal is more akin to running a marathon than a sprint. You don’t win a race with one stride. Instead, you have to find success via incremental progress. “When you break that [mileage] down into smaller bites that you work towards,” explained Durflinger, “it becomes achievable.”

If you want to be great, if you want to achieve your dreams and overcome your biggest hurdles, you have to test yourself, Vittert explained. But you can rise to the challenge, fly through the storm, he advises. “I think you learn that you’re stronger than you think you are,” Vittert said. “And if you go into the psychology of survival… you can’t wallow in the difficulty.”