If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes fostering a deep desire for adventure and exploration rather than simply giving tasks.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery's quote suggests that effective leadership and inspiration are about igniting a passion for a larger vision, rather than merely directing people to complete tasks. By encouraging a longing for the 'endless immensity of the sea,' a leader can motivate individuals to take initiative and embrace the journey of creation and discovery, leading to more profound satisfaction and engagement in their pursuits.
In practice
During a team-building workshop, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of cultivating passion in projects.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
It doesn't matter who you are, or where you come from, or how much money you've got in your pocket. You have your own destiny and your own life ahead of you.
A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.
Do you know why I love God? Because Heaven is real. And one day, when we get to Heaven, we are going to have arms and legs. And we are going to run, and we are going play, and we are going to race.
Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go.
There's only so many guys on a football team that really have a voice. So anytime you have a microphone, you should use it for the betterment of humanity, for the betterment of this country, for the betterment of our kids coming up behind us, for the future of the world. Why not? Make the world a better place.
The best way to get people to connect with an issue is to humanize it. You can do so much more powerfully with music and touch the heart.
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