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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.
by simonsarris 15y ago
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-Exupéry
I think personalities like Musk are behind the above quotation. A dreamer with demands, and the demands are concrete in the respect that they may be technically possible while still being dreams - be they Mars at 500K or yielding 10x the mechanical properties. I think people are drawn to such personalities because it seems to be the most encouraging way you can possibly frame a dream.
- bergie 15y agoDream no small dreams, for they have no power to move the hearts of men - Goethe
- lacker 15y agoIf 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. That quote sounds pretty awesome. However, in the real world that's not how most ships are built. There's a lot more "giving orders" than "teaching to yearn". It's not like the shipbuilding industry is famed for the dreamy yearning of its laborers.
- justncase80 15y agoIt sure used to be true. Back when Europeans didn't know what was out there...