Seth Godin says freelancers hire themselves for cheapest rate and burn out

What was said

"Talented freelancers get dreams of building something bigger than themselves. They're tired. They want something that's going to have scale, but every time times get tough, they hire the best available, cheapest person. You know who that is? Themselves, because they work for free. And so you end up hiring yourself to do all the jobs, and no wonder you're exhausted because you're not doing your real job."

Marketing legend Seth Godin explains why freelancers and small business owners burn out: they repeatedly hire themselves to do every job instead of building something bigger. He distinguishes between freelancers who get paid when they work versus entrepreneurs who make money while they sleep, arguing most people confuse the two roles and exhaust themselves trying to scale without proper leverage.