Your Problem Isn’t You
It's the Wrong Playbook
Your Problem Isn’t What You Think
It’s not easy being a solopreneur.
You don’t just do the work.
You are the system.
Sales. Delivery. Tech. Strategy. Cash flow. Marketing.
All of it runs through you.
Some days you feel sharp and energized.
Other days you’re dragging—wondering how something you chose so deliberately can feel so heavy.
That swing isn’t random.
It’s a signal.
The Mistake Almost Every Solopreneur Makes
Most solopreneurs assume the issue is execution.
If I could just focus more…
If I could just fix this one thing…
If I could just solve the right problem…
So they do what they were taught to do.
They look for problems.
They chase fixes.
They grind harder.
And somehow, the pressure increases while progress doesn’t.
That’s not because you’re failing.
It’s because you’re running the wrong playbook.
Your Real Enemy Isn’t Your Problems
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Your problem is problems.
Not the fact that you have them—but the belief that they deserve your primary attention.
That belief creates what I call the Problem Mindset.
It narrows your vision.
It trains you to scan for leaks instead of openings.
It convinces you that relief is always one fix away.
Just solve this… then you’ll be okay.
But the list never ends.
Problems regenerate faster than you can eliminate them.
And while you’re busy fixing, something else quietly shuts down:
Your opportunity radar.
What the Problem Mindset Really Costs You
The cost isn’t just frustration.
It shows up as:
Exhaustion — always active, rarely buoyant
Overwhelm — juggling everything, gaining no altitude
Autopilot — moving through days without noticing what’s changing
Autopilot is the most dangerous of all.
It’s when you’re working hard but not aware.
Moving fast—but in circles.
That’s how solopreneurs don’t just feel stuck.
They experience AMO.
Actually Missing Out.
Missed signals.
Missed pivots.
Missed clients.
Missed timing.
AMO doesn’t announce itself.
It compounds quietly—until the window has already closed.
Where This Mindset Came From
You didn’t invent it.
You inherited it.
From school.
From jobs.
From business books written for institutions, not individuals.
It comes from what I call the BIG Playbook—Business In General.
BIG rewards predictability, stability, gradual improvement, and risk reduction.
Inside corporations, that makes sense.
But you’re not a corporation.
You’re a solopreneur.
For you, the BIG Playbook is like kryptonite.
It drains energy.
It dulls awareness.
It keeps you optimizing yesterday instead of noticing tomorrow.
BIG teaches three rules that quietly backfire:
Look for problems first
Make something of yourself
Transform gradually
They sound responsible.
For solopreneurs, they’re a trap.
The Context Has Already Changed
We’re no longer living in the world the BIG Playbook was built for.
Corporate loyalty is gone.
Gatekeepers are gone.
Safe paths are gone.
What’s rising in their place?
Individuals reclaiming agency.
That’s why “Founder” is everywhere.
That’s why independent work keeps accelerating.
Solopreneurs aren’t fringe.
They’re the future that has already happened.
And futures like this require a different operating system.
The Pivot
Here’s the good news:
You’re not stuck with the BIG Playbook.
There is another one—designed specifically for solopreneurs in the Age of the Individual.
I call it the MVP Playbook.
It flips the script:
Look for opportunities, not problems
Act from your volitional identity, not in search of it
Transform rapidly, not gradually
This is how solopreneurs move:
From exhaustion to momentum
From AMO to compounding wins
From grind to greatness
Next, we’ll take a closer look at what really happens when you finally bench the old playbook—and why doing so changes everything.