Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho

Pamela Hartigan, director of the Schwab Foundation, drew up a list of ten points common to people whose dissatisfaction with the world around them drove them to create their own work. I think that Pamela’s list reaches far beyond this new mechanism called “social enterprise” and can be applied to many of our everyday activities:

Impatience: those who seek their dream do not wait around for things to happen: they see yesterday’s problems as today’s opportunities. Their impatience often makes them change course, but this adaptation is what matures them.

Conscience: those who seek their dream know that they are not alone in the world and that each gesture has a consequence. The work that they are doing can change the atmosphere around them. By understanding this power, they become an active element in society, and this sets them at peace with life.

Innovation: those who seek their dream believe that everything can be different from what it is, but it is necessary to pick a path that has not yet been traveled. Although always surrounded by old bureaucracy, the comments of others, and the difficulties of penetrating an unexplored forest, they discover alternative ways to make themselves heard.

Pragmatism: those who seek their dream do not hang around waiting for the ideal resources to start their work – they roll up their sleeves and get to work. No matter how little progress is made, it increases their confidence and the confidence of those around them, and the resources eventually turn up.

Apprenticeship: those who seek their dream usually have a deep interest in some particular area that can reveal new solutions to old problems when looked at in detail. But this apprenticeship can only be achieved through practice and constant renovation.

The rest of the list will be published here tomorrow.

Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet