Tetsuya on Allies

“The archer who does not share with others the joy of the bow and the arrow will never know his own qualities and defects. Therefore, before you begin anything, seek out your allies, people who are interested in what you are doing. I’m not saying “seek out other archers.” I’m saying: find people with other skills, because the way of the bow is no different from any other path that is followed with enthusiasm.
Your allies will not necessarily be the kind of dazzling people to whom everyone looks upto and of whom they say: “There’s none better.” On the contrary, they are people who are not afraid of making mistakes and who do, therefore, make mistakes, which is why their work often gets unrecognized. Yet they are just the kind of people who transform the world and, after many mistakes, manage to do something that can make a real difference in their community. They are people who can’t bear to sit around waiting for things to happen in order to decide which attitude to adopt; they decide as they act, well aware that this could prove highly dangerous.” – Tetsuya on Allies (from The Archer by Paulo Coelho)