"I learned this, at least by my experiment;
That if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
And endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
He will meet with a success unexpected in common hours...

In proportion as he simplifies his life,
The laws of the universe will appear less complex,
And solitude will not be solitude,
Nor poverty, poverty,
Nor weakness, weakness.

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."
- From Walden Pond Thoreau 1828-1862


Perhaps the most difficult part of working towards your dreams is building a foundation for them. This past year I have worked more intentionally towards my dreams -more so than ever before. Its not uncommon for me to rattle off big ideas, but rarely do actions follow them, especially if those actions require longevity.  I am very intentional in my relationships and communications with others, but until this last year I have not been intentional in working towards reaching my dreams.

I don't plan my personal life very far in advance with much detail. But this past year I realized there are many steps I could take that would help me to build a foundation for my castle sky ideas, that don't necessarily require a commitment to a blue-print (which is always a great fear... I don't like being nailed down to a rigid plans). Rather, the actions I could implement would be more disciplinary in nature... guidelines that will provide me a solid foundation that will support my castle no matter the modifications that may be made along my journey.

This past year I have felt a strong urge to become more discipline in planning for my future and I think my desire to do so revolves, in large part, to finally realizing that I want a future. Now this may seem odd, but its the truth. My laize fair attitude has always gotten me by, but its never planted me anywhere. I drift from one thing to the next and hope everything works out. To some degree, this isn't a problem... but like everything in life its a double edge sword that requires balance.

Until this last year, I had never seen a future for myself. I had many ideas about what I could do and where I could end up - but each were as likely as the other and just about as appealing. There are many people that challenge me, but one in particular sharpens my mind and cultivates my heart daily.  One of the greatest lessons I've learned from her is how to be disciplined and proactive about my dreams. She knows what she wants and talks often about  how she will get there. She see's her future. And she thinks regularly about what foundations she's creating so that twenty years from now she can have it.

I have an enormous fear of commitment, in part because I have a large fear of disappointment - and the two often walk hand in hand. My fear of commitment was so deep, that I have always been too cowardly to latch onto my dreams and run towards them.  And its somewhat ironic that in my professional career I can set the largest goals and not blink an eye. My personal life however, is a different story. My only guess is that in the grand scheme of things work has never been personal enough for me to be afraid of its loss.

But over this past year I've worked very hard at putting that all aside. I've been taking steps towards chasing my dreams. As I set aside my fears and simplify my life I find things happening, just as Thoreau has wisely wrote... things become less complex and success slowly comes in uncommon hours... and I'd like to add, in uncommon ways.

I hope you all have the courage to build foundations for your castles in the skies - otherwise we'll have one hell of a city above our heads that we can never visit.
-Bobs