The BIG Trap
The Problem Mindset didn’t start with you.
The Problem Mindset didn’t start with you.
It was inherited.
Passed down quietly.
Repeated consistently.
Rarely questioned.
From school to jobs to business books, the message was the same:
Winning means finding the right problem and solving it.
The bigger the problem, the bigger the win.
It sounds reasonable.
For solopreneurs, it’s a trap.
The White Whale Effect
Once you internalize that rule, something subtle happens.
You start chasing the problem.
The one that will finally prove your worth.
The one that will make everything click.
You row harder.
But instead of compounding wins, you train your brain to hunt problems.
That’s not innovation.
That’s conditioning.
The BIG Playbook
The BIG Playbook runs on three rules.
They look wise on paper.
For solopreneurs, they backfire.
Rule One: Look for Problems
The default business question is:
“What problem are you solving?”
It’s not wrong.
It’s incomplete.
Innovation is opportunity-based, not problem-based.
Problems are one source of opportunity — not the only one.
When problems dominate attention, vision narrows.
You become excellent at spotting flaws and risks
and blind to shifts, openings, and convergence.
With an Opportunity Mindset, problems don’t disappear.
They just stop monopolizing attention.
Rule Two: Make Something of Yourself
This rule whispers:
“You’re not ready yet.”
So action is deferred.
More learning.
More credentials.
More preparation.
Inside institutions, this works.
But clients don’t hire solopreneurs for badges.
They hire them for value.
Opportunity doesn’t wait for résumés.
Credentials only matter when they multiply your strengths.
Otherwise, they delay motion.
Rule Three: Transform Gradually
This rule sounds responsible:
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
In institutions, it often does.
For solopreneurs, it’s dangerous.
Opportunity windows open and close quickly.
Gradual movement misses timing.
Gradualism creates the feeling of progress
without the reality of change.
Tectonic shifts aren’t gradual.
They’re sudden.
The Closed Loop
Put the three rules together:
Look for problems → develop a Problem Mindset.
Believe you must become → delay action.
Move gradually → miss the window.
The result is predictable:
Exhaustion.
Overwhelm.
AMO — actually missing out.
Hard work.
Low awareness.
No compounding.
That’s not failure.
That’s dogma.
A Tale of Two Playbooks
You don’t need to obsess over problems.
You don’t need to collect badges.
You don’t need to crawl forward.
You need a different playbook.
The BIG Playbook is problem-first.
Inherited.
Built for institutions.
The MVP Playbook is opportunity-first.
Volitional.
Built for solopreneurs.
Problems shrink when solved.
Opportunities multiply when entered.
That’s the difference.
The Pivot
From autopilot to awareness.
From proving yourself to being yourself.
From gradual motion to decisive movement.
That’s the MVP Framework in action:
Mindset — opportunity over problems.
Volition — acting from how you’re wired.
Process — executing quickly and authentically.
Profits follow opportunity the way breath follows lungs.
Shift what you look for — and what you see changes first.
Coming Next
Why opportunity doesn’t announce itself — and how solopreneurs learn to notice what others miss.