Indie hacking is like gardening

This little line I saw on my social feeds got me thinking:

When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.

We don’t blame the flower for not thriving. We know it’s due to the soil, water, sun, fertiliser. We focus on the conditions that make the flower grow, not the flower itself.

A compelling analogy for success and failure in indie hacking and entrepreneurship.

Maybe there’s still a significant element of autonomy and free will at play when it comes to indie hacking, but you can get far by just looking at the environment you’re in.

Are the online and offline environments you’re part of, nudging you forward, or distracting you, pulling you down?

Who do you hang out with online? Are they toxic and take energy from you, or do they inspire and give you more energy?

Are the communities I’m part of a net positive, or a net negative?

Is my home and work space helping me be more productive, or less?

What are my daily routines, and do they move the needle on what truly matters, or are they just work to make me look busy?

What activities truly generate revenue, versus nice-to-have?

What brings me real dopamine, compared to fake dopamine?

I have no answers… yet.

Good questions to reflect upon, as I head into a new month and new work season in the year…