In a recent LinkedIn post, Steven Bartlett urges his audience to shift their focus from seeking easy solutions to tackling difficult challenges, asserting that this is the path to delivering genuine value and achieving significant rewards.
Bartlett frames the pursuit of easy wins as a potential distraction from one’s true potential. He prompts readers to identify the most challenging problems they can solve, problems that require significant passion and patience, suggesting that the greatest returns are found in these demanding endeavors.
“If you want to deliver genuine value, you have to stop looking for easy wins and start looking for hard problems.”
The Value of Tackling Difficult Challenges
Steven Bartlett’s central argument is that true value creation and substantial rewards are intrinsically linked to the difficulty of the problems one chooses to solve. He posits that easy problems, while seemingly attractive, can act as diversions, pulling individuals away from the opportunities that lie in confronting complex issues.
According to Bartlett, the inclination to seek out simple solutions can be a detrimental habit. He encourages a proactive approach to problem-solving, advocating for the identification of a problem that, if solved, would offer significant benefit to others but would deter most due to its inherent difficulty.
“A problem that most people wouldn’t have the passion or patience to solve? Whatever that is, your greatest rewards will be coming from aiming at that.”
Identifying Your ‘Hard Problem’
Bartlett challenges individuals to reflect on their capabilities and aspirations. He asks:
“What is the hardest problem you can solve that would deliver genuine value to other people?”
This question is designed to encourage introspection and a strategic alignment of personal strengths with market needs or societal challenges. By focusing on these hard problems, Bartlett suggests, individuals are positioning themselves for the most impactful contributions and, consequently, the most significant personal and professional gains.
The Peril of Easy Solutions
Steven Bartlett issues a warning against the allure of simplicity. He views easy problems not as stepping stones, but as potential obstacles to personal growth and achievement.
“Be fearful of easy problems. They are there to distract you from your potential.”
In Bartlett’s view, engaging with and resolving complex issues is akin to playing a more challenging game, which, when won, yields greater prizes. This perspective encourages a mindset shift towards embracing difficulty as a catalyst for innovation and success, rather than shying away from it.
The post concludes with an open invitation for engagement, as Bartlett asks his followers to share the hard problems they are currently aiming to solve, fostering a community dialogue around ambitious goal-setting and problem-solving.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Steven Bartlett on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on April 28, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →