Henry David Thoreau — If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; now put the foundations under them.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; now put the foundations under them.Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau, 'Walden'
Thoreau refuses to mock the dreamer. The imagining was real work, correctly done — it was simply done first. What remains is the unglamorous half: foundations.
You have already imagined yourself speaking English easily. Good. That picture is not silly; it is the blueprint. Now put a small foundation under it today.
Words that widen the world
The base on which something is built.
Synonyms: base, groundwork, footing
He laid the foundation slowly.
A large fortified building; figuratively, a grand dream.
Synonyms: fortress, stronghold
Castles in the air need foundations.
Common questions
It means dreaming big is worthwhile, but dreams must be supported with practical, patient work to become real.
From Henry David Thoreau's 'Walden' (1854).
Carry it with you
In your own words, what does this thought mean to you? Write three or four sentences in English about a moment when it felt true — saying it yourself is how it stays with you.
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