“If you want to build a ship,
don’t drum up the men to gather wood,
divide the work and give orders.

Instead, teach them to yearn
for the vast and endless sea.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 1900-1944, Author, ‘Le Petit Prince’ 

Love the inspirational/motivational quote. At the same time, I’ve come to appreciate/understand the duality of life, the need for balance. Yes, it is vital to involve people deeply and engage their hearts. Yet simultaneously or in short order thereafter you must ensure that the necessary skillsets exist or are acquired. A love of the “vast and endless sea” can get you drowned if not coupled with the ability to build a seaworthy vessel!

This ability to marry both left brain (logic) and right brain (relationships/emotions) sides of our beings, to go back and forth as needed between ground level and 50,000 feet is vital to successful leadership, even innovative management. Call it what you will; forest v. trees or big v. little picture, the world needs those who can be creative and practical, dreamers and doers.

Closing Quotes:

“If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.” – J.M. Power

“Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men and women, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.” – T. E. Lawrence

“Successful people are dreamers who have found a dream too exciting, too important, to remain in the realm of fantasy. Day by day, hour by hour, they toil in the service of their dream until they can see it with their eyes and touch it with their hands.” – Debbie Ford, 1955-2013 (cancer), The Best Year of Your Life

As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier