What’s better?
A doctor who looks you in the eye and says,
“This is what’s going on and here’s what we’ll do about it.”
Or a doctor who says,
“I’m not entirely sure yet, so let’s try this. Let’s see how it responds. Then we’ll reassess.”
About ten years ago my dad was diagnosed with cancer. The bad kind.
During his treatment, we saw two very different GPs.
One was decisive; reassuringly so. There was always an answer. A clear next step. A sense of control.
The other was more tentative.
“Let’s try this.”
“Call me in two days.”
“We’ll adjust if needed.”
Spoiler alert: the confident one was wrong.
And because he was wrong, my dad was misdiagnosed for far longer than he should have been.
Maybe earlier & better intervention would have changed things. Maybe not. We’ll never know.
That experience stayed with me, because certainty is comforting.
It can also be dangerous.
Certainty signals competence. It always has. The difficulty is that the signal is not always accurate.
If you’ve been building a business or a brand over the last few years, you’ve probably felt this same tension.
We all want clarity, conviction, and a clean answer to the fundamental question: "What exactly am I doing, and who am I doing it for?"
Especially if you’ve been successful in the past, you’re used to being the person who knows. The person who is certain.
That expertise is part of your identity.
In reality the market doesn’t sit still.
The way people find you is changing. The way authority compounds over time is changing. The mechanics of visibility shift faster than most experienced professionals are comfortable admitting.
Something that worked beautifully just two or three years ago can quietly stop working today without ever sending you a memo.
In this environment, the real risk is being confidently wrong for way too long.
When I started this journey last year launching my newsletter and that, I began with a high degree of certainty.
I decided my target was "experienced solopreneurs". I saw that many of them were quietly being outpaced by a younger, social-native generation.
My solution felt clean and marketable: help them create video content to bridge that gap.
I quickly learned that "solopreneur" is a word people either dislike or define so broadly that it becomes meaningless.
A freelance cleaner technically qualifies, but so does a high-end architect or a pilates instructor.
It was a massive pool of people, and I didn't want to swim in that.
Furthermore, by leading with video content, I was attracting people who just wanted tactical production help.
While I can do that, there are plenty of people who do it cheaper and better.
Solopreneur = too broad
Video content = too narrow
So, I adjusted.
I narrowed my focus to "solo professionals" - people who specifically sell their thinking, like business coaches, consultants, and facilitators.
These are roles I deeply understand because I’ve lived them for two decades.
Then I made another shift: I realized the problem isn't actually about video; it’s about "getting found."
And to get found, you need clarity, not just louder content.
You need the kind of positioning that makes someone land on your profile and immediately think, "Ah, I get exactly what this person does."
A lot of experienced professionals aren't losing to younger players because they’re less capable; they’re losing because the younger players understand how modern visibility actually works.
Every time I changed my focus, doors would close, but better, more relevant doors would open.
People often mistake this process for indecision, but it’s actually iteration. There is a massive difference between the two.
- Iteration refines the core; panic abandons it.
- Iteration sharpens the pencil; panic throws it away and buys a new one.
- Iteration adjusts the language; panic changes your entire identity.
When you are iterating, you are still in the pocket. You are still working the same problem. You are just refining how you approach it.
You do not throw everything out at the first sign of doubt. You let the doubt inform you without letting it dictate your direction.
And you hold your beliefs loosely enough to update them, but firmly enough that you are still building toward something meaningful.
Experience is a massive asset until it transforms into ego. And ego loves certainty because certainty feels safe.
The world is changing, technology is shifting, and the rules of visibility are constantly evolving. If you’re too confident in yesterday’s answer, you’re going to miss tomorrow’s opportunity.
So, perhaps the better doctor - and the better business professional for that matter - is the one who is brave enough to say, "I don’t know yet, but let's find out".
One who is more open to learning and then iterating accordingly.
Curiosity doesn’t weaken your authority; it protects it.
If you’re building anything in 2026, that posture of staying curious & flexible is exactly what will keep you relevant.
Make it a great day.
