"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."

Having lofty goals, especially when there doesn’t seem to be any prospect of reaching them, can seem like building castles in the air. Taking things a step further is jumping right into those goals with little prospect or foundation to reach them. Conventional wisdom says that you should get all your ducks in a row or build a firm foundation first before pursing your dreams. Not doing so gives the impression of being premature, dreamy, naive, impractical, or unrealistic.

However, sometimes it’s okay to build castles in the air. Sometimes, that’s what it takes to get unstuck mentally and literally. But once those castles are in the air, the next step is to build the foundation under them.

This quote, by Henry David Thoreau, reminds us that if we’ve already built castles in the air, we should keep them there where they are, because that’s where they belong. Thereafter, we can build the foundation to support them.