Dan Koe argues that "delusional" goals can change how people see opportunities and make decisions

Creator Dan Koe recently published an essay titled "You need to be delusional if you want to succeed," arguing that goals aimed at exceptional outcomes cannot remain fully "reasonable." In his view, most people set targets based on what already fits their current skills, resources, and habits, which leads to what he calls linear thinking. A bigger, less realistic target changes what a person notices, which opportunities they take seriously, and which problems they try to solve. Koe says the point of a goal is not only the final number. It also works as an attention filter. He uses Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and the idea of a "Reality Distortion Field" to illustrate how accepting an ambitious future premise can shift a team from asking why something cannot be done to asking what must be done to make it happen. The essay lays out three steps: pick one goal that the current version of yourself cannot achieve, define what to stop doing, and identify the highest-leverage path. Koe also cites his own attempt to reach $100,000 in monthly revenue, when he had about 1,000 followers and had previously earned less than $100,000 a year as a freelancer.