This is an Attribute that is much more common in younger people, the under 25s. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) this declines with each decade of life. This is part of the magic of youth - a time of possibilities and one of the prime drives that enables a break away from the safety and security of Settler-world and a leap of faith into the Prospector-world. People of all ages can be espousers of this orientation, but is usually a youthful phenomenon.

Fantasy espousers can and do get themselves in trouble with their finances. Their dreams are bigger than their pockets. They admit to being disorganised with their budgets, if they have them at all. With actual younger people this is perhaps just a function of being new to the world of financial responsibilities. Their desire to impress others, particularly their peers and the opposite sex, can lead them to buy that thing they ‘just had to have’ and to find at the end of the month that they have spent more than expected. Among older and supposedly more level-headed people, Fantasy espousers say they are regularly overdrawn. They pay the most outstanding bills, trying to avert action by their creditors – living for today and fantasising about tomorrow.

The dark side of Fantasy is that problems get stored up and these espousers get frustrated and angry rather than resigned or accepting.

This can mean that when the pressure gets too much and someone or something is ‘making them angry’, it is all right to explode into violence to get rid of the anger. This is a part of their values system that declines with age, but explains why much violent crime is committed by under 25s, particularly males.

In females this manifests more as an underlying resentment that may come to life in support of larger acts of civil disobedience - and even riot situations. They may not be able to be violent in many situations, but in big and largely anonymous circumstances they will use a values set that feels it is okay to take what you want if you really want it. A lot of hand-wringing was done by politicians after the widespread rioting a couple of summers ago – mostly examining the actions of young disaffected males. The female looter was largely ignored by the media, but it is quite likely that Fantasy espousers made up more than their fair share of female offenders – especially in the ‘taking away’ from shoe and clothing shops.

To be clear, this was also an important factor among male looters. Among the older age groups this larcenous activity can be more positively channelled into high performance organisations, especially in a direct selling situation. ‘Rules are made to be broken’ might be a mantra that excuses some practices that are morally suspect, but in a team may be excused as it helps the peer group hit target.

Leaders who have Fantasy espousers on their teams will find that they are looking for strong leadership from male authority figures. Females heading these teams will have trouble gaining respect from these people. They believe that men are better suited for work environments and women ought to be at home. Fantasy women, even when working successfully on work teams, will more likely have a hidden desire to be at home – but a ‘success’ at home. They are more likely to feel a woman’s place is at home than most other people.

Fantasy can lead to golden dreams, but when those dreams are not met a dark side can emerge.