The Power of Delusion: How to Become

I grew up with the belief that only the people who got to live their dream lives were the ones with degrees, connections, and a carefully mapped-out plan. If you didn’t follow the traditional path, you wouldn’t make it very far. I love proving people wrong. Here’s my story:

My career in media coverage wasn’t built from a classroom or a mentorship. It began with a single message to a friend. I asked if I could photograph one of his shows. At this time, I didn’t even consider myself a photographer. I was just a girl with a camera. One of which I had no idea how to use. Silly of me to believe a concert was the perfect setting to learn how to use it. I had no idea how to capture movement under flashing lights or navigate crowded venues with a camera in my hand. But I believed that I could learn.

The concert photography world is notoriously difficult to break into. It’s filled with talented people, many of whom have years of experience, professional credentials, expensive equipment, and industry access. I am an impatient gal though and I wasn’t going to wait for permission, credentials, or experience to belong. 

I didn’t pretend to be an expert. I began to reach out to any contact I could find. Artists, publicists, venues, and random emails that AI overview found for me. My messages were simple and honest: I was learning, building a portfolio, and eager for experience. This was a dream job for me and I had no idea what step one of getting there was.

I was told no. A lot. Most times, I didn’t even get a reply. Eventually, the rejection stopped feeling personal once I realized it was just part of the process. The worst thing that happens when you ask for something is you don’t get it. And if that’s the worst thing, it’s really not that bad.

Eventually, I got a yes.

Those first gigs taught me more than any textbook ever could. I learned how to capture emotion through chaos, how to move with a crowd, how to anticipate moments before they happened. I met people who would become collaborators, mentors, and friends. With every show, I built skill and confidence—and slowly, a career began to take shape.

Looking back, I can see that it wasn’t luck or timing that got me here. It was a combination of persistence, belief, and what I like to call productive delusion.

Being a little delusional means believing you’re capable of something before there’s any evidence to prove it. It means acting on a vision that only exists in your head, trusting that you’ll grow into the person who can make it real. Every creative, every entrepreneur, every person who’s ever built something meaningful has had to be a little delusional at the start.

Confidence isn’t something you find. It is something you build by showing up before you feel ready. So, that’s what I did. I showed up to concerts with my camera, shaking with nerves but determined to learn. I showed up to opportunities that scared me. I showed up after rejection, after doubt, after nights where I wondered if I was wasting my time.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that you don’t need a perfect plan to start. You just need a willingness to try.

So many of us hold back from chasing what we want because we’re afraid of failing, falling behind, or looking like an absolute fool. The truth is though, most people aren’t watching as closely as we think they are. The world doesn’t hand out permission slips. You have to write your own.

I built my career by sending the message, taking the shot, and showing up even when it didn’t make sense on paper. And I’d do it all again, and again, and again, because everything I’ve built came from that first moment when I decided I was allowed to try.

So if you’re reading this and waiting for the right time, the right qualifications, or the right version of yourself—stop waiting. Be a little delusional. Believe in the version of you that doesn’t exist yet. Act like them, work like them, trust like them.

You’ll be surprised how quickly the world starts to believe it too.