“The world is full of problems.”
True.
“They should fix them.”
Should they? Or should you?
Somewhere along the way, too many of us forgot about the importance of fixing things. Or worse, we stopped believing it was our job. Most people see the problem, the broken system, the bad process, the dishes in the sink, and they wait.
Seems to us that’s the dividing line between two types of people in today’s world. At Contrarian Thinking, we call these Fixers and Freeloaders.
Picture this: You’re on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Suddenly, a hole appears in the hull. Water pours in. What happens next? Here’s a good example we found out in the ether… Scary how accurate it is:
The Freeloaders react — but they don’t act. “Someone fix this!” they yell. They point fingers. They debate who’s responsible. They theorize about why the ship is sinking. One starts a petition. One writes a think piece, “The Big Sink: Who’s Really to Blame?”
Freeloaders never reach for the controls. They see things that need fixing, but that’s for someone else. The government. The boss. The committee. The next guy. Freeloaders notice problems. They comment on problems. But they do not fix problems. Because fixing something would mean taking ownership, and ownership is heavy. It forces action. Action invites failure, blame, and, worst of all, work.
So they wait. They discuss. They theorize. They make sure everyone knows they’re concerned — as long as they don’t actually have to do anything about it. They live their whole lives nodding. They’re the ones in meetings who state the obvious like it’s an original insight: "We should really get better at customer retention." Thanks, Jeff. Incredible input.
The Fixers, on the other hand, don’t have time for that. They grab whatever they can — buckets, cork, their own damn hands — and start plugging holes. No debates, no complaints. The boat’s going down or it’s not, and they’re damn sure it won’t be on their watch.
The cool part is fixers don’t just save the ship. They end up running it.
Most people vastly underestimate the career and wealth-building power of being the person who just… “handles it.”
Every industry, every business, every organization is leaking somewhere. Systems break. Machines fail. Customers churn. Marketing underperforms. Cash dries up. The people who get ahead are often the ones whose natural instinct is to grab a wrench — the Fixers.
Fixers get hired, promoted, paid more, and end up in charge. Fixers activate. Freeloaders spectate.
Hard truth: The world will always be full of leaks. Your career, your business, your relationships — in every system around you, holes will appear, waiting to be plugged. The question isn’t if this will happen, it’s what you do when it does.
So, you want to be a Fixer? That means moving up along the ladder. Let us explain.
In video games, Non-Player Characters (NPCs) exist to create the illusion of a world alive. They populate towns, repeat scripted dialogue, and react in predictable ways — but they don’t actually play the game.
They’re the shopkeeper who always says, “Welcome, traveler.” The villager whose only thought is, “Dark times are coming…” The blacksmith who mutters, “Someone should really fix that damn bridge…” and then keeps hammering the same sword he’s been working on for eternity, never once considering picking up a plank himself.
NPCs don’t deviate. They don’t innovate. They don’t connect dots. They exist in loops — saying the same things, thinking the same thoughts, waiting for the real players to come along and take action. They see the cracks in the world but never wonder if they could be the ones to fix them. They’ll probably get more interesting with AI. But generally speaking, they’re just… there, wandering.
Player Characters are the ones who make things happen, the ones with all the control, the ones actually playing. PCs don’t hover in town debating whether someone should fight the dragon. They grab the sword and chop off its head. They don’t repeat, “I hear there’s trouble brewing in the east…” for the 600th time. They ride east and handle it.
In the real world, you want to be a PC.
PCs understand something most people don’t: no one is coming to pick you. There is no grand selection process where a wise old wizard anoints you the chosen one. You either step forward, or you stay in the background. The defining trait of a PC is simple: ownership. If something is broken, you fix it. If something is missing, you build it.
The world defaults to the people who step up.
Their success is a product of the problems they choose to solve and are willing to own. The problem? Most people never leave rung one. So, where do you actually fall on this scale of ownership?
Want to make more money? Climb the ladder. Want to get promoted? Climb the ladder. Want to build a business? Climb the ladder. Over time, you’ll solve bigger, more valuable problems. Eventually, like a cheat code, the world will open up for you.
Most people are allergic to this concept. They wait — for the perfect role, the dream project, the “right time.” They convince themselves that once the big opportunity arrives, then they’ll take action. But that’s completely backward.
Trust is arguably the most valuable asset on earth. The world doesn’t hand you a golden ticket. It doesn’t tap you on the shoulder and say, "You seem like a high-potential individual. Here’s your big break." No, the world looks around for those already solving problems and throws bigger problems (and bigger rewards) their way.
When you’re a Fixer, the world starts to treat you differently. The more you own and solve, the more trust you build, and over time that trust leads to great rewards. The currency of trust buys opportunities, and those opportunities are earned through ownership.
You will never hear someone in our office say "That’s beneath me." Never.
When the sink is dirty? We clean it with a wink.
The people who never take ownership of the little things never get handed the big ones. Those small moments? They compound. See, the game of life isn’t fair. It’s rigged for people who take ownership.
It’s time more of us started playing like it.
The information contained here is educational, may not be typical, and does not guarantee returns. Background, education, effort, and application will affect your experience and the profitability of any business. Individual results may vary.
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