The true meaning of intellectualism

I have been thinking about it means to be an intellectual, and I came to the conclusion that I intellectual is someone capable of thinking outside the constraints of ideology, because someone that only thinks with an ideology in mind, is not an intellectual, is an ideologue. To become an intellectual one must engage with the unpleasant task of seeking knowledge, even when it is uncomfortable to do so. The intellectual is by nature an altruist, he or she spend time reading books it don't like, seeing things that can make anyone sick and listen to unpleasant people. The life path of the intellectual is a path of sacrifice, he sacrifice its own well being because of its love for knowledge and for humanity.