Ceiling of Dreams

In the bustling port city of Thessaloniki, young Andreas was known for being clever with his hands. Born to a family of shoemakers, he had mastered the craft by the age of sixteen. Neighbors admired him: “He’s already better than his father.” But something in Andreas always tugged at the clouds.

He loved drawing — not just shoes or sandals, but fantastical buildings, cities, machines that walked. Yet whenever he showed his sketches, people laughed kindly, “Dreaming is fine, but bread comes from leather.”

Years passed. Andreas took over the family shop. He made fine shoes, won local awards, and never ran out of work. But he felt like a man living in a house with a low ceiling. Comfortable, yes — but always crouching.

One evening, an Italian tourist stopped by, impressed by the shoe designs etched with delicate patterns. “You should study design in Milan,” she said casually. The thought stuck.

After weeks of hesitation, Andreas applied to a design school in Florence — a wild dream for someone who’d never left his town. He got in.

At first, he struggled. Everyone was better. Younger. Bolder. But slowly, his hands remembered the language of creation. Years later, his sculptural footwear became the talk of fashion weeks. His name appeared in magazines, not just shoeboxes.

When a reporter asked him, “Did you ever imagine this life?”

He smiled, “I almost didn’t. I was aiming too low for too long.”

Moral: 

We often live small because we’re afraid to fail big — but the real failure is never trying.

Inspiration:

Our problem is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit. - Aristotle