Make believe

Author’s note: Welcome to Edition 11. I write about pursuing your make-believe world from dreams to reality. Please lmk your thoughts about this essay. I also write a second newsletter with in-depth commentary on how new-age Indian businesses make money (Newsletter link here).

Dreams are imperfect constructs of reality. Viewed from afar, the colours are wrong, patterns are haphazard and they culminate in a series of dead ends. Dreams are delusional and better left to the confines of your mind. It is safest to dream at night and wisest to wake up without fragments of your daily delusions.

If people were to extend dreams into reality, it would create a dangerous world. This world would allow the boldest of individuals to chase figments of their imagination in real life. If no one could stop you from pursuing the fantastical, would it be a net positive for the world? A step back from a world changing delusion is a step towards a delusion that changes your captive world. As Plutarch wrote, what we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. And so, chasing dreams may be the only way to change our world and those of people we know.

Wardell Stephen Curry II changed basketball through a maniacal obsession with the 3 point shot. He pushed forward the definition of excellence by focusing on making every 3 pointer without touching the rim from increasing distances. This delusion bent reality as he did live what he once visualised. It’s make-believe till you make everyone see what you believed.

A world of make-believe requires enough people to want to believe. This begins from visualisation in a room to that visual playing out in real life. The path is treacherous and you will stumble and trip over your own feet. Believe that obstacles are imaginary and your dream can be willed into reality. You require this belief to go beyond what you expect of yourself.

Going beyond everyone else’s hopes requires you to have higher expectations. Delusion is best lived on the ceiling and not on the floor. Your limits should be unknown, and you have to fly too close to the sun. The heat cannot scar because it’s make-believe. You can push beyond limits imposed by others. You have to believe this is true if you want to create a world of your choosing.

You can still fail in your chosen world if you delude yourself for too long. Reality will catch up and sucker punch you if you do not put in the work. To paraphrase Charlie Munger, Learning is not memorizing information. Learning is changing your behaviour. You have to constantly be on the lookout. It is tiring but you cannot falter in your efforts. When you set out to build a world based on a dream-delusion, remember that other worlds exist. You are not entitled to anything, not even an opportunity to make people believe.