My daughter, Jessie, clicked this photo of an adjacent condominium complex as she stood on her balcony while Dick and I stayed with her this past weekend. The early morning fog rolled in and virtually obliterated the waterfront and bridges outside her window creating this image of a castle in the air.
The image caused me to remember a quote that propelled Dick and I as we labored to build our bed and breakfast business. "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. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; Now put the foundations under them." ~Henry David Thoreau
Sometimes we are cautioned, "Don't build castles in the sky." This well-intentioned advice is meant to temper our dreams to fit a more realistic view of what our circumstances may allow. However, to accomplish big things, we must dream big, plan wisely, set goals to accomplish one at a time, then be prepared to work very hard to make it happen. Although Dick and I continue to build our business that began as a dream seventeen years ago, the foundation is in place. Now, our three daughters are prime examples of what this photo's image portrays. As they toil in their separate business ventures, often only the tip of the castle has been visible. But as the fog begins to clear, the entire castle will be in view.