2598: Pragmatic Idealism

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Host: We must interact with the world as it is, not as we want it to be. Think that at first glance, that might sound a little bit pessimistic, even a little bit cynical, you know, as though we're supposed to just accept things the way they are and throw our hands up and give up on any change or improvement or any progress. But that's not what it means at all. In fact, it is. It is the polar opposite of that. Because the only way to improve reality is first to acknowledge reality again as it is, not as we want it to be. Because you cannot improve, uh, what you refuse to see. And in so many areas of life right now, we are willfully blind, willfully ignorant. If you, if you're, if you are, if you are overweight, but you insist that you're healthy or that being overweight is in fact healthy, you know, body positivity. You'll never change. Things are never going to change. If your finances are a total dumpster fire. But you keep telling yourself that everything's fine. You'll never get ahead if your marriage is struggling, but you pretend that it isn't. You'll never have the conversation that needs to happen. You know, not acknowledging the 500 pound gorilla, the purple elephant, whatever it is. If you are not able to interact with the world as it is, then you will never be able to actually create the world that you want it to be. Reality comes first, then progress. It's true in our personal lives. It's true in business. It is even true in society. Maybe especially true in society. You know, one of the things I've noticed over the years is that young people tend to be highly idealistic. That's not criticism, that's an amazing thing. Starry eyed enthusiasm for the future and things are going to be different and we're going to be the people that can actually change it and make it happen. When a young idealist, ideal, idealistic person looks at the world and they ask why isn't it better? What if we did things differently? What if we reimagined and started over? Those are important, really valuable questions. Because every meaningful improvement begins with some form of imagination. Every innovation begins with somebody imagining a better future. But experience, well, experience is a profound, wonderful teacher. And that experience teaches us another lesson, that the world is not a blank sheet of paper, it's not a form of tabula rasa, a, uh, blank slate. The world is in fact an incredibly complicated, complex system that is populated with people, lots of incentives, tons of trade offs, good amount of history, lots of unintended consequences and lots of competing interest and reality that gets a vote, that gets a vote in this program. So the older I get, the less interested, uh, I become in perfection and the more interested I get in improvement, the less interested I become in utopia and the more interested I become in better. In fact, I might go so far to say that people who are committed to a utopian view of the future will most certainly create a dystopian reality in the future. So that's why I love the phrase better and safe. It's not perfect and flawless. It is better and safe. It is practical, it is achievable. The challenge with so many grand visions is that they begin with this imagined destination, but spend very little time considering the path that it takes to get there. That destination is a beautiful thing in our mind's eye, but the implementation, that's where things get a little dicey. That's when things get a little bit difficult. Because every, every action creates a consequence. Every new policy, well, that creates different incentives. And every decision is by the very nature of deciding one thing over another is a trade off. And that's not negativity, that's reality. And we must give reality its due. We must respect it, we must appreciate it, we must again acknowledge it. Because one of the greatest mistakes that we can make is believing an outcome sounds desirable but not having a path that is viable. Every desirable outcome must have a viable path that is available and sustainable so we can actually make it happen. Because those are different things. You want healthier people, great how you want better schools. Awesome. How you want safer communities. Great. Yeah sweet sound sounds great how because the how that really matters. The trade offs they matter. Human behavior matters. Reality matters.

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Host: This is one reason I've always been skeptical of sweeping changes implemented quickly. Not because change is bad, because change has a big hefty price tag. It is expensive, not necessarily dollars and cents, but in terms of the time that it's going to take the attention which is required and the energy which it will take, the disruption and the all unintended second order consequences that invariably are going to pop up that you did not realize because we just don't even know. So meaningful change. It requires thoughtfulness, it requires effort, it requires extreme persistence and often it requires consensus. And that so frustrating. You want to go fast, go alone, you want to go far, bring other people along with you. Consensus is tough, it's slow, can feel super inefficient but there is value in forcing ideas to survive scrutiny. Another phrase I love. Is your plan going to survive its collision with reality? Mike Tyson famously said, everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the face. And then, um, you know, then you are turning tail. You are waving the white flag. You are throwing in the towel. You say, eff it. There's value in debate. There's value in hearing the opposing viewpoint. It's so funny that half the country thinks one way and the other half thinks another. And we apparently think that we're just so different. It's just one issue for the rest of it, you know, the other 99% probably pretty similar. There's value in convincing other people rather than simply running them over. You know, Penn being Meyer and the sword. Using your brain for something instead of calling somebody a Nazi or whatever. And the bigger the change, the greater the burden of proof that exists. And this principle is a universal one that maps and works everywhere. If you want to lose 100 pounds, don't reinvent your entire life. Let's go for a walk today. Right now. You want a stronger marriage? Don't wait for the perfect relationship. Have one better conversation tonight. If you want financial freedom, don't obsess about becoming rich. Save a dollar, invest another dollar. Make a better decision. Because progress, it's incremental. Sometimes it'll really speed up towards the end and you'll get that hockey stick. But there was a lot of progress that was taking place painfully, without a lot of fanfare. But it's pro. It's, it's. It is required. Otherwise, it's not a hockey stick. Then it's just the blade of the stick. You get the idea. And that's a frustrating thing because we live in a culture that celebrates what we perceive to be dramatic transformations. We love the before and after photos. We love the overnight success stories, which are rarely overnight. They're more 20 years in the making. We love a good revolution. But most meaningful progress looks more like compound interest. Small improvements repeated again and again and again over a long period of time. True of organizations, individuals, communities, countries. The world doesn't become better because somebody imagines perfection or reimagines something, oh, look, I just sat down and I reimagined what this is going to be. No, the world becomes better because responsible people engage with reality and improve it a little at a time. And that's why I believe one of the most mature perspectives a person can develop is this. Accept reality completely and then work relentlessly to improve it not because reality is perfect, but because reality is where the work begins. Because you can't build a bridge from a place you're pretending not to stand on. You are here. This is the situation. These are the constraints. These are the resources. These are the trade offs. Now what? That's where responsibility lives. That's where agency lives. And that's where progress lives and takes place. Because the goal is not to create a perfect world. The goal is to leave things a little bit better than you found them. A little stronger, a little wiser, a little safer, a little bit more aligned and a little more meaningful. And that's enough. Because civilization advances the same way your life does. Not through fantasy, not through wishful thinking, but through people interacting with the world as it is and doing their part by doing their best.

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Ryan Reynolds: from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment

Narrator: of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com.