We live in an age of instant gratification. We want results, and we want them now. But what if the key to truly remarkable achievements is taking the long view?
Consider the great cathedrals of Europe. These awe-inspiring structures took generations to complete. The architects and craftsmen who laid the first stones knew they might not live to see the final spire placed. Yet they poured their hearts and souls into the work, driven by a vision that transcended their lifetimes.
The same is true of breakthroughs in medicine and technology. The polio vaccine took decades to develop, and the iPhone was the culmination of years of incremental innovation. As Bill Gates once said, “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”
But in our haste to create fast, are we sacrificing the opportunity to create something enduring? A study by the Long Now Foundation found that companies focused on long-term thinking outperformed their short-term-oriented peers by a wide margin.
Perhaps it’s time to permit ourselves to dream big. To set audacious goals that might take years, or even decades, to achieve. As Michelangelo famously said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.”
