You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?

I don’t mind that children believe in genies and magic lamps. It’s good for them to dream, to imagine a world where wishes come true with a snap of the fingers. Fantasy teaches kids to think beyond the ordinary, to wonder and hope. But there comes a time when we outgrow the idea that life will hand us what we want just because we wish for it. As adults, we have to accept the truth: there’s no genie waiting to make life easier.

Whatever we want—a stable career, a home, a meaningful relationship—won’t appear out of thin air. No whispered wish or starry night is going to build it for us. Success isn’t conjured; it’s earned. It comes through effort, through late nights, long days, and moments of self-doubt that you push through anyway. Reality may not sparkle like a fairy tale, but it offers something fantasy never can: the satisfaction of knowing that what you’ve achieved is yours because you worked for it.

It’s tempting to want shortcuts, to imagine some magic force clearing the obstacles in our path. But shortcuts leave no lessons behind. The struggles, the grind, the setbacks—they shape us into people capable of holding on to what we’ve worked for. A genie might grant riches, but it won’t give you the resilience to keep them.

Let the children keep their stories of enchanted lamps and wishes for now. They need those dreams to grow. But as adults, we know better. Life is a reality we have to meet head-on, not with wishes, but with action. Whatever we want, we build with our own hands. There’s no magic trick—only the slow, steady magic of hard work.