He said: “You’re living my dream life.”

That was a comment from a TikTok follower on one of my daily riding videos.

I replied:

“Don’t dream it. Do it.”

Then came a long list of reasons why he couldn’t: time, money, responsibilities…

So I sent him a longer answer:

“I understand that you can’t embark on this adventure right now.

To be fair, that’s normal. You’ve only been thinking about it for five minutes after seeing my post.

Dreams rarely happen spontaneously. They usually require months or years of preparation and reflection.

If riding across France is truly your dream, perhaps you can do it in two or three years.

It may require saving money, changing priorities, reorganising your life, maybe even reconsidering how you earn your income and spend your time.

That’s what real dreams tend to do.

They start influencing today’s decisions.

If none of your decisions are changing, it may not be a dream yet.

It may simply be wishful thinking, a pleasant thought that visits before sleep and disappears in the morning.”

The assumption worth questioning

We tend to think a dream begins when we finally pursue it.

When we leave the job.
Start the business.
Move abroad.
Write the book.
Set off on the journey.

Until then, we wait for time, money and circumstances to align.

But meaningful dreams rarely fit conveniently into the life we already have.

The perspective shift

The more I thought about this exchange, the more I realised how often dreams and wishes are confused.

The difference is simple:

A wish changes your mood.

A dream changes your behaviour.

A dream does not become real when you finally achieve it.

It becomes real when it starts changing your decisions.

Look again

Not every wish needs to become a plan.

You may enjoy imagining yourself cycling around France without wanting the preparation, uncertainty or physical effort involved.

There is nothing wrong with that.

But if something genuinely matters to you, waiting for life to make room for it may keep it permanently out of reach.

A dream starts making room for itself through the choices you make today.

What could this change for you?

Think of something you regularly call a dream.

Has it changed anything?
Your priorities?
Your calendar?
The way you use your time or money?
The conversations you are willing to have?

If none of your decisions are changing, is it truly a dream or something you simply enjoy imagining?

Test it in real life

Make one small decision this week that treats the dream as real.

Save the first €20.
Protect one hour in your calendar.
Research the first step.
Start the conversation.

You do not need to pursue the entire dream today.

Just let it influence one real decision.

A note from the road

The Tour de Gaule was a dream that did not begin when I started pedalling.

It began months earlier, when the idea started influencing my training, calendar, spending and commitments.

The first kilometre was simply when those decisions became visible.

Walk your talk,
Franck

P.S.:

• What dream keeps returning to you, and what decision could make it a little more real? Reply and tell me. I read every response.
• If someone else needs this perspective, forward it to them. They can join WTFT here.
• WTFT is free for everyone. If you would like to support the experiments behind it, you can buy me a coffee.