that’s not how it works. You establish a channel with a network peer, spend some to add incoming liquidity to your channel, and reach the rest of the network. Send and receive payments. Yes the limitation is the liquidity and balance in your channels, but as far as routing goes we are all only a few hops away for each other.

It is wildly practical today, and there are several good custodial solutions if you do not wish to run a node yourself. Please give it a try!