Castles in the Air

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost, that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau

Dreams are wonderful! They are castles in the air. They are whatever you want them to be. You can add, subtract, or rearrange ideas to your heart’s desire. The only problem is that the dream has no substance. For your dream to become real, it will need a solid foundation. Just as a building needs a cement and steel foundation, a dream needs a written out plan, so that you can see what needs to be done, and then do it.

As a teacher, I taught English to students of other languages (ESOL). In that program, there was a procedure for everything. I would show the students a picture of a very beautiful glass building where the windows gleamed in the sunlight. I asked them what they thought of the building and the answer was nearly always the same. “The building was big and pretty” they would say.

My next question was, “What do you think is holding up the big, pretty building?” They did not know. A foundation is not pretty, is not shiny, but IS necessary for the building to stand. My students needed to learn basic English (a foundation) before they could proceed to the next level.

The same procedure can be applied to dreams. Your dream needs a foundation (a written action plan with a completion date). As you complete the steps in your plan, you will see your dream castle become a reality, and in the end, it too will gleam in the sunlight!