Be wary of people who tell you that you need to “live in reality” whenever you propose change.
In fact, forget “wary.” Tell those people to go jump in a lake.
By its very nature, change requires a vision of a world that does not exist. A fantasy, a dream. If you’re trying to change anything at all, you’re “not living in the real world.” So that’s a foolish complaint for someone to levy against you just for proposing an idea that doesn’t yet exist.
Whenever someone tells you to “live in the real world,” they’re always proposing a reactionary, grueling endurance of life’s woes. Your job sucks, and you want to start your own company? “Live in the real world,” says some jerk, by which they mean “go to your job that you hate and be miserable every day.”
Create a reality without that jerk. And once you’ve made that improvement, keep right on going.
The Opportunity Machine 