Tina Fey’s line lands because it sounds like a joke and a confession at once: the part of confidence we praise as “self-belief” is often closer to audacity than evidence. By reducing it to “10% hard work and 90% delusion,” she flips the usual advice—be prepared, be qualified—into something more honest about how people actually act when they take risks.
That framing also signals a social reality: confidence is frequently mistaken for competence, so projecting it becomes a tool for entry into rooms where you’re not yet proven. In other words, Fey isn’t dismissing effort; she’s pointing out that effort alone rarely produces the nerve required to step forward. [...]
