Why Staying Delusional Is the Best Business Decision I've Made

If we made a pros and cons list about being delusional, the pros would win. Let me explain.

I can still remember what I saw in my mind before I had a single piece of proof. I left teaching in 2016. No podcast, no stages, no book. Nobody in my family is an entrepreneur. None of my close friends were entrepreneurs. Teaching is a respectful profession, but it isn't exactly known for global stages and a passport full of stamps, and that was exactly what I wanted. There was no mentor behind me saying "yes, this is realistic, I've seen this happen for somebody like you."

I just knew. It was never a hope. It was a knowing. Growing up I wanted to be a version of Oprah, wanted Broadway, wanted LA. My friend Katrina Owens says so many people won't admit they want to be famous, and I love her for saying it. I totally wanted to reach lots and lots of people, and I had no idea how. So I spent hours visioning it, scripting it, journaling it, making vision boards, seeing it so clearly that it stopped feeling like a dream and started feeling like a memory of something that hasn't happened yet.

Back in 2016, "delusional" wasn't the buzzword it is now. But if I'd said all that out loud, people would have asked if it was realistic, whether a 30-year-old shouldn't just settle down, get the big girl job, tick the boxes. I am so grateful I stayed delusional instead.

Delusional right up until they weren't

Every single woman I've admired in this space, the ones with the big podcasts and the stages and the businesses that let them live wildly, would tell you the same thing. They did things that didn't make sense yet. They built things before the numbers supported it. They hired people beyond where they were so they could shorten the timeline. They were all delusional right up until they weren't.

People love to call that an overnight success. Why can't we just give somebody credit that she worked her ass off and did all of the mindset work? Six and a half years and 600 episodes into this podcast, with our book launching this September, I can tell you none of it was guaranteed. Nothing was laid out ahead of me, except in my mind.

So here's my question, and I want you to actually sit with it: what if being delusional was a prerequisite to having everything you want?

The mechanics (because this isn't just vibes)

Holding a big vision gives you momentum before you have proof. In 2016 and 2017 I had to DM the person, start the podcast, watch the YouTube video, figure out the editing, all before there was any evidence anybody would listen. What stops most people is fear of judgment: what if I look stupid, what if nobody likes my post, what if the first episode flops? You are comparing yourself to somebody's year six when you're on day one. And if you're waiting for proof of how something ends before you start it, you will never start, because that proof doesn't exist yet.

Belief is built mechanically. You think a thought on repeat, and it forms a new neural pathway. New beliefs inform new actions. New actions create a new reality, and that reality reflects back the thoughts you started with. It's cyclical, and you're responsible for the input. Your reticular activating system will go find the evidence: suddenly your feed is full of women saying "six years ago nobody listened to my podcast, and now I chart on Apple." They were always there. You just weren't looking for proof of what's possible yet.

And someone is watching you the same way. A woman recently sent us a photo of her vision board, and Kaila and I are on it. She's working with us now. Your first step is somebody else's proof. Especially if you have kids watching: they will monkey see, monkey do long before they listen to what you say. Live your life for you, and by proxy you give everyone around you permission to do the same.

How to stay the most delusional person you know

Protect your vision from too many opinions. Very few people know the full size of what Kaila and I are building at any given moment. Our partners know, our close biz besties know, our coaches know, and that's about it. Some visions need privacy before they meet a wide audience, because you don't need anybody poking holes in something that's still in its infancy.

Then be picky about proximity. Delusion is a frequency, and it doesn't mix with "I'm a realist" energy. I'm not lowering my standards or being less delusional to make somebody else comfortable, and neither should you. Find the rooms where identity, mindset, and manifestation are the everyday language. Our Aligned CEO Method application literally asks "are you open to the woo-woo?" because if you're not, our community won't fit you, and that's okay.

And watch for the lowered vision, because I've seen it cost women everything. They come in with the big dream, then life gets tiring, the algorithm annoys them, and they decide maybe they didn't want the big life after all. Then they price from that smaller place, show up from that smaller place, and their business starts to match the size of the vision they settled for instead of the one they wanted. That's not failing. That's giving up. The version of you who can hold a seven-figure vision is not the same version who holds a five-figure one, and the grass is greener where you water it.

Everything you've ever built lived in your head first. This podcast was once delusional: no audience, no guests, no stages. So get delusional about your business, about your impact, about what your life is allowed to look like one year from now. And then go take delusional action ASAP.

Ready to put some strategy under the delusion? Take the free 30-second quiz to find your clearest path to more cash flow. This post comes from an episode of the My Aligned Purpose podcast, which you can listen to and follow here. And if you want to be surrounded by women who are delusional in the best way, come meet us inside Aligned CEO Method.