Is it better to be honest and realistic?

I’m a realist, some say pessimist, I guess I’m both then.

A few of my friends have recently gone freelance whereas I have taken the opposite step of going back to a 9-5 style role. Now, I enjoyed the freedom and the doing it when I wanted BUT I didn’t enjoy a lot of the projects, didn’t enjoy the stress of getting the work in and even worse was the not sleeping for days in fear of not being able to pay the rent.

So, when someone tells me they are going freelance, my advice to them is pretty much the same each time.

Don’t fall for the same mistakes I did.

Looking back, I should have planned more, been more ruthless and worked less.

Question is, do people really want to hear that or do they want to hear what they want to hear?