At the 2008 TED Conference, this is how Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor opened her world-famous talk, “My Stroke of Insight”:

“I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder, schizophrenia. And as a sister and later, as a scientist, I wanted to understand, why is it that I can take my dreams, I can connect them to my reality, and I can make them come true? What is it about my brother’s brain and his schizophrenia that he cannot connect his dreams to a common and shared reality, so they instead become delusion?”

Two words matter here: reality and delusion. They seem to be planets away from each other. But zoom out a little and you’ll see they revolve around the same sun: our imagination.

The thoughts that rise from the depths of our minds often end up at a crossroads. One path leads to reality, the other to delusion. Go left, and you transform your life into something new. Turn right, and you escape into a world that’s not true.

When we suffer from a severe mental illness (like schizophrenia), that choice is no longer ours. We cannot differentiate between reality and delusion, and proper medical treatment is required. When that’s not the case, we have the awareness and capability to choose how we channel our dreams.

But that choice is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is being able to choose reality and the countless possibilities that come with it. The curse? Both paths often look the same.

---

The Difference Between Reality and Delusion

Action.

When dreams and ideas transform into action, they create a new reality. But when they become daydreams and fantasies, delusions are born.

Nothing illustrates that difference better than teenage love. On a random morning in the seventh grade, I saw my best friend in tears, sitting in the corner of his classroom with puffy eyes that clearly said, “He hasn’t slept all night.”

Hundreds of possibilities ran through my head. Did something happen at home? Did his dog die? What if he got expelled from school? Or maybe someone beat him up really badly?

I had never been so worried in my life. I escorted him out of the classroom and finally asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” He said.

“Come on. I’ve known you since the third grade. I know something’s wrong. What’s the problem?” I persisted. I couldn’t let it go.

“Okay. She likes someone else.”

There it was. His crush was the reason he hadn’t slept all night. She liked another boy but had no idea she had just shattered my best friend’s heart. Because he’d never told her! For four years, he told me all about how much he loved her, how beautiful she was, and how her smile was the best thing in the world. The only problem? She never knew. He was always too afraid. A dream relationship that could have come true only remained a fantasy in his head.

Isn’t that what we do with our dreams? It’s always too risky; we’re always too afraid. We dream of these big ideas: a new restaurant, the next big thing in tech. But, when it comes to action, we step back. After all, it’s so much easier to get a paycheck from that soul-sucking job and escape to the fantasyland inside our heads.

The English Poet A.E Houseman once wrote, “The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in.”And I couldn’t agree more. Escape feels easy but brings with it the cold, harsh winds of regret and loss. Before we know it, that house shatters to the ground, and there’s nothing left to rely on. 

All of us want to get to the top but choose the easier path. Instead of action, a fantasy drives up our hopes for a better life. We never change. We just dream of it. And that is dangerous because the truth is different.

Just having a dream doesn’t guarantee that you’ll achieve it. I’m sorry if I sound like a critic here, but there are thousands, if not millions, who have the same dream as you. What, then, makes you worthy of getting to the top?

The real world is tough. It runs on survival of the fittest, and merit is the only thing that matters. The exceptional action-takers make it to the top. The others don’t. It might seem unfair on the surface, but it is what it is.

That’s what the data tells us, too. 92% of people fail at achieving their New Year’s Resolutions and Goals. That’s right. Out of 100, only 8 people make it to the top. The rest? They live in that house of delusions.

How do you move out and get to the top? Simple: by choosing the hard path of action.

---

What Top Achievers Do

Pick up a biography of any extraordinary person, and I can guarantee you’ll find powerful stories of triumph and victory. When you immerse yourself in the world of champions, you’ll be amazed by the level of commitment, action, and relentlessness they have. When life strikes them down, they rise back up with double the energy. They don’t beat critics with wordplay and defense; they just get back to their work and let the results speak for themselves. That’s what makes them champions.

Pullela Gopichand, one of India’s best badminton players, is the perfect example. In his biography, Shuttler’s Flick, I read about the debilitating knee injury he suffered in a match in 1994. He crashed onto the court and needed surgery to recover. For most athletes, this would have meant the end of their career. But not for Gopichand. He had the spirit of a champion in him.

When he was back home, he did not rest. His lower body was immobilized, but he still had control over his arms, and he made the best of that. He spent time reading about biology and healing so that he could make the right choices and get back on the court as fast as possible. He also spent hours in preparation every single day. he’d sit in his wheelchair and practice his shots for hours. He would hit smashes on the wall and built so much strength that the shuttlecock started punching holes into it. He didn’t feel sorry for himself. He didn’t sulk in sadness and complain about his misfortunes. No, he got right back to practice and preparation.

After months of rehabilitation, he stepped foot on the court again, but he wasn’t the same. He was better, stronger, and more prepared than ever before. All that effort and pain paid off when he won the All England Badminton Championship in 2001 and made history by becoming only the second Indian to do so. His success wasn’t luck but deliberate and constant action.

Badminton is the second most popular sport in India (after cricket). Therefore, Gopichand had a lot of competition right from the start. Thousands of kids, just like him, had the dream of playing at the World Championships. But he was the only one who made history. The only difference between them and him was the actions he took.

As a kid, he would be the first one on the ground. No one told him to, but he would arrive an hour early, run around, and warm up. When the other kids got there, he was already prepared and ready to go. That one action alone put him ten steps ahead of everyone else.

For other kids, the badminton class ended when the coach told them to leave. For Gopichand, it never ended. He was always improving. When he would lose a match, he would come home and ask, “What went wrong? What could I have done better?” Nobody scrutinized him as he did himself—never with the same intensity. That was a champion in the making. Badminton wasn’t a casual affair for him; it was everything. His sincerity was unmatched; so were his achievements.

When you have the attitude of a champion, you don’t just survive, you THRIVE. That means letting go of distractions and doing the right thing even when you’re sad, hurt, unmotivated, and lost. Extraordinary results demand extraordinary achievements. It’s simple math.

---

Getting to the TOP: 3Ps and 1D

The top is a heavenly place to be, but getting there means walking straight through hell—often with optimism and a smile.

The world today makes escape easier than ever before. 
Getting bored? Here’s a video of a cat breaking a vase. 
Feeling tired? Scroll through social media and feel good without having to do anything.
Overwhelmed and lost? Watch your favorite sitcom and let go of all your worries.

When you have an ocean of endless escapes and distractions, focus and hard work can feel like hell. Your brain seeks the easy way out, and now you have access to it 24/7.

Therefore, you need to shift your focus consciously and purposefully towards your goals and dreams. Instead of dreaming about fantasyland, you must have the courage to build it, step-by-step, brick-by-brick.

It’s hard, but it’s the only way that takes you to the top.

Let’s say your dream is to become one of the best chefs in the world. It’s big. It’s exciting. It’s also full of cut-throat competition.

So, how can you make it happen? With 3Ps and 1D.

PLAN:

Learn as much as you can about the best chefs in the world and decode their journey. Where did they begin? What did they learn? How did they start? What challenges did they face? Become an investigator and look for action steps. Then, take those lessons and apply them to where you are today. How can you start taking action? What’s the first step for you? Translate your dream into solid, actionable, and measurable steps.

Then…

PREPARE:

To be the best, you need to upskill yourself and rise to that level of depth and expertise. You cannot become the best chef in the world if you don’t make good food. This is a lifelong process. You must always keep preparing, improving, and learning. Every mistake, misstep, and failure is an opportunity to learn and get better. Become like Pullela Gopichand here. Constantly reflect and take action on those reflections. Master preparation, and you’ll not only get to the top but stay there, too.

PROMISE:

Set goals. Decide your targets and the direction you want your life to take. Be very specific and conscious about it. If you’d like to understand goal setting in depth, I have dedicated a whole section to it in my book, Explore The New YOU. You can find a link to order your copy at the end of this email. 

DELIVER:

Once you’ve set those goals, there is no looking back. You have to deliver on those commitments, no matter what. The moment you start walking down this path, challenges will multiply. People will criticize you. Unexpected problems will pop up out of nowhere, and you’ll be forced to find new solutions. Your willpower will be tested beyond its limits. If you can still keep going, you will bypass the thousands that just wait and wonder. When you take action in the face of adversity, your dreams come to life and become your reality.

It’s simple. But it’s not easy. When you accept this fact and take those hard actions, you set yourself apart from the crowd and rise to the top. All your dreams will come true if you’re willing to work for them.

That’s a question to reflect on today: Are you willing?