Don't Lay Bricks, Build a Cathedral

I was having a conversation with?Daniel?the other day. I asked him, “How do you hope to be remembered in two hundred years?” He was like, “Two hundred years!?” And I was like, “Yeah, two hundred years?”

It might sound outrageous, but we should ask ourselves this question more often.?

Society is obsessed with the here and now. Our constant fixation with instant gratification suppresses our appetite for long-term thinking. This subconscious behavior is dangerous because it prevents us from preparing for the future that lies ahead.

To adapt, we need a new way of thinking—one that thinks beyond several years or even a few decades. The solution, we believe, is Cathedral Thinking.?

This week, Daniel and I sat down to evaluate the principles that underlie extraordinary long-term thinkers, starting with a dissection of a revolutionary architect: Antoni Gaudi.

The Symbol of Catalonia

Gaudí was born in 1852 in Catalonia, Spain. From a young age, he was interested in his Mediterranean heritage, the arts, and design. At 16, he moved to Barcelona. And after impressing a Catalan industrialist at the 1878 World's Fair, Gaudi was commissioned to design Palau Güell and Park Güell, crowning his first achievements in modernist design.

Less than five years later, at the age of 31, Gaudi took charge of Barcelona’s most ambitious architectural project, The Basilica de la Sagrada Família.?

A few weeks after taking over, Gaudi dramatically changed the blueprint he had inherited from his predecessor. Although many of the changes were structural and aesthetic, Gaudi also changed the significance of the building. He wanted it to convey transcendence, so he designed a vast “Bible in Stone.”

Some say Gaudi was the most revolutionary architect that ever lived. Creative genius aside, what’s most impressive about Gaudi, is that he knew he would never see his greatest work completed. Even today, over 130 years since he began working, his monumental church remains unfinished.

A glorious masterpiece, carved into a stunning backdrop, La Sagrada Família manifests Gaudi’s long-term vision. The church, a symbol of Catalan modernism, acts as an eternal reminder of Gaudi’s genius.

Now, Gaudi’s legacy not only outlived him, but future generations that follow.?

Forming the blueprint

The idea of Cathedral Thinking dates back to the medieval period, when architects developed blueprints for soaring structures that served as places of worship. Centuries before Gaudi, medieval architects designed churches with a long-term mindset. Those plans required several generations to complete. Their creations acted as an eternal resting place for Kings, Popes, and Royal Nobility.

In the medieval period, there was far less sense of progress with technological innovation and political change. Society looked to the past for guidance, holding tight onto its traditions. Meanwhile, the perception of time was radically different back then. Instead of the relentless drive of clocks, people lived by the natural rhythms of the seasons.

Also, religion unified people in the service of something greater than themselves. It encouraged them to think far past the present and towards an eternal future. During this period, one of the greatest symbols of eternal thinking was constructed on one of the remaining natural river islands on the river Seine: Notre Dame de Paris.

In the 10th century, Paris was a provincial cathedral city of little political or economic significance. However, under the kings of the Capetian dynasty who ruled France between 987 and 1328, it developed into an important commercial and religious center and the seat of the royal administration of the country. In 1160, King Louis VII commissioned a sprawling cathedral in the heart of downtown Paris. Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone in 1163. Ten monarchs later (182 years), Notre Dame de Paris stood completed. At 420 feet tall, the cathedral is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It’s outshadowed, both in size and opulence, by very few Christian temples.

Ten million pilgrims visit St Peter’s Basilica each year. Located in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome, the church stands at 448 feet tall, with an interior the size of three football fields. After the first Basilica was knocked down in the early 16th century, the modern structure was overseen by several of history’s greatest architects. Originally designed by Bramante in 1506, ownership passed to Raphael, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, and Carlo Maderno over a 120 year period. Saint Peter's tomb, a site under St. Peter's Basilica that memorializes the location of Saint Peter's grave, is said to be nearly 2,000 years old. Meanwhile, up above, the church’s central dome continues to dominate the skyline of Rome.

Other cathedrals, all over the world, remain symbols of long-term thinking. Ulm Minster (1377–1890) is the tallest church in the world, with a steeple towering 530 feet above Ulm, Germany. In Milan, the Duomo di Milano took over six centuries to be completed (1386–1965).?

Studying the world’s most prominent cathedrals offers a glimpse into a different style of thinking in the modern era. History’s most notable architects, who approached each blueprint with a long-term mindset, offer us five lessons on building the future.?

The past predicts the future

Leave a legacy.?How will people remember you? Generations of people come and go. Legacies that last are those built on a timeless foundation. In 1997, Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental organization that empowers communities, particularly women, to conserve the environment and improve their livelihoods. Maathai passed away in 2011, but her legacy lives on through tree-planting. To date, the Green Belt Movement has trained more than 25 thousand women and planted 40 million trees.

Do something significant.?If your idea is significant, you find more people inspired by your passion. On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered a powerful speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. “I have a dream,” he proclaimed, “that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. King’s work, and ever-lasting legacy, will be carried on by others who were inspired by his bravery and ideals.?

Find disciples.?To carry on your life’s work, find others that share your dream, or spirit. At SpaceX, Elon Musk is always looking for people that share his dream of making the human race a multi-planetary species. More important than finding people, though, is instilling within them shared values and a big purpose. A single goal, such as reaching Mars, is not enough to transcend time. Settlement, colonization, and expansions beyond Mars certainly are.

Take a leap of faith.?Depleting the world of its natural resources might sound okay in the short term. For some, it might mean “jobs.” For others, this might mean “a strong economy.” Our planet, however, doesn’t have infinite resources. At our current pace, we’ll render our planet uninhabitable sooner than we care to admit. We must take a leap of faith, sacrifice a short-term loss for a long-term gain, and play our collective role in building a brighter future.

Delay your gratification.?In life, we often take a short-term loss for long-term gain. La Sagrada Familia, if completed 100 years earlier, wouldn’t be the soaring structure that it is today. Gaudi didn’t restrict himself to what he thought he could accomplish in his lifetime. Instead, he created a clear blueprint that could be passed onto future generations. By focusing on the long run, Gaudi made investments in his legacy’s future.

The Final Question

Society is facing more significant crises today than at any other point in history. Cathedral Thinking is the mindset that will empower great leaders to prepare future generations for the notable challenges that lie ahead. We hope you take this advice and reflect. Think to yourself and wonder:

“How do you hope to be remembered in two hundred years?”