The Pessimists (55%) see everything in terms of what could go wrong. Who might not be on board with them. How much work is required for success. How much of an advantage someone else has that they don't have. All the people who have tried and failed despite their best efforts. 'I don't want to fail like that'.
The situation of a Pessimist seems to get gradually worse as time goes on.
The Realists (40%) are most concerned with being correct, so every thought, idea and action is tempered to protect the downside. The Realists never aim too high, for fear of coming up short, in which case the Realist would be wrong. The realist will do anything to avoid being wrong, thus the Realist sticks with the status quo; what is accepted and safe, tried and true.
Realists pretty much stay where they're at. Even when things get "better", they somehow stay the same.
[I know a ton of Realists. They tend to be of above-average intelligence, and have followed the rules for most of their lives; they've done everything that's generally accepted and by-the-book. That type of programming -- and the mindset required to follow the rules for so long -- is very hard to undo.]
The Visionaries (5%) have unrealistic goals. Ideas that don't seem even halfway feasible. Visionaries ask unreasonable questions (how about you give me the first-class upgrade for free?) and fall on their faces a lot, what with jumping and trying to touch the moon so often. Visionaries get funny looks from the Realists and Pessimists, who feel validated every time the Visionary comes up short of a stated goal. Realists and Pessimists try their best to talk sense into Visionaries, make them more "realistic". Visionaries always seem to have either doubled down on their grand plans, or started some new mission that's even crazier than the previous one. The Visionary has more downs than ups, but the ups more than make up for all the downs.
The world moves forward ONLY behind the action of the Visionary. Think of all the leaders you have followed, the momentum-shifters you've read about, the people whose stories inspired you: 100% Visionaries, without fail.
Visionaries hire realists and ignore pessimists.
The belief of a Visionary must be stronger than the influence of the Pessimist and Realist. They're not against you, Visionary: It's just that they can only teach what they know. It's your assignment as a Visionary to find the light (vision) in the dark (pessimism and realism). And not only when you feel like it.
Because as soon as you fail to find it, you become one of Them.
#WorkOnYourGame