If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. – Henry David Thoreau
I have always loved this quote. I must have come across it when I was in high school, because I remember thinking about it then. In college I started a quote journal, and it’s the very first quote I wrote in it.
It’s funny how some quotes stick with us. The meaning changes, sometimes significantly and other times only slightly, as time passes.
For me, the meaning has only slightly changed. It’s become more of a concrete quote. And I realized it applies wonderfully to my life and business now.
You see, I love, love, LOVE setting goals, creating strategies to meet those goals and planning out the details of those strategies. I think it’s a lot of fun.
I was doing this for myself at the end of November when I realized that dreams and goals are the castles in the air. Sometimes they’re really cool and fun, but look a bit unattainable. How the heck do I get there?
The strategies and plans are part of the foundation, not all of it, but a very important part. They’re like the bricks of the foundation.
What’s the stuff that holds it all together and prevents it from falling over? That’s the work. When you follow the plans and do the work, you’re putting the mortar between the bricks. You’re laying a strong foundation.
Building on last week’s topic, don’t become discouraged if things don’t exactly go as planned. Sometimes those failures make the foundation even stronger or the foundation is now able to support a castle (or dream) that is even better than we previously imagined.
What are your castles? What dreams do you have for your life and business that you’re laying the foundation for? Share below!