I believe everyone has a friend who talks about his grand dreams but never really take action to fulfil those dreams.
He has been talking about it for years but there’s no progress or any achievement to show.
You listen as he shares his dreams enthusiastically while your mind is filled with skepticism and thinking any of what he said wouldn’t matter.
He probably get inspired by his role models – it could be Trump, Musk, Thunberg, Sandberg, or X. These societal influencers project a heavy dose of idealism and it is very motivating and inspiring to hear them. Their idealism is infectious.
This friend of yours feeds on his idealism to get by each day and gets recharged by the influencers. The dream of success is sufficiently satisfying without the need to actually achieve it.
Idealism can get you started and motivate you towards a goal. But it isn’t enough.
You need to be a realist to make things happen.
You need to be a realist to see the world as it is and not through the tainted idealistic lens you hope is happening.
Because acting on a false facade will not get you results. Realism allow you to act based on truths.
The influencers do not get to where they are by only being idealists. Within their organisations, they operate like realists to make things happen. Externally, they project idealism to inspire and influence. Don’t be mistaken by their form.
Realism has a tendency to come with age. There’s a saying we become wiser as we grow older. Wisdom transits idealism to realism. The earlier we learn to be realists the more results we can achieve in life.