Meeting up with my friend

Yesterday, I had a meetup with my highschool friend.
A famous quote by Gary Vee said "Ideas are shit. Execution is key." My interpretation of this quote is that if you don't apply the idea in which you strongly believe in, it is the same as having no idea at all. This quote strongly resonates with my life's decision.
Me and my friend discussed our university experiences and what I realised about my friend, is that he is a bystander unlike me. I strongly believe being self aware of the situation around you is not good enough to be successful in life. A question to people reading this post. Are you the person making the change, or the person watching the change?