Strengths-based approach to indie hacking

OK I’m done with the old approach of working on weaknesses in order to improve and grow.

Maybe it’s just age. Maybe it’s experience.

I don’t know for sure, but I’m getting a nagging doubt that my old ways aren’t working, yet I’m still expecting results (because “show up every day”). That’s Einstein’s definition of insanity.

No more.

I’ve been beholden to that paradigm, because it had worked so well for me in the past. In sports especially. I learned that—as an athlete—you are only as strong as your weakest link. Because performance is a consequence of different attributes coming together – power, endurance, mental qualities. They are all chain-linked and pulling in the same direction like a chain when you’re performing. And where it breaks is always at the weakest link in the chain. People intuitively avoid working on their deficit areas because it feels bad. If someone is has good endurance, they keep using and working on it because it makes them feel good. In sports I’ve gained lots of improvement by working hard on those weak links. That’s how I’ve approached work and career. Focus on deficits, the strengths will take care of themselves.

But I realised this might not be true for indie hacking.

Because in sports there’s rules of the game, and the factors that lead to success are relatively straightforward and predictable. Anyone with the most power, endurance, technical skills and mental prowess wins.

But there’s no such straightforward formula for success in entrepreneurship.

In fact, for every best practice, you can find someone who succeeded without it. Every business 101 fundamental, you can find a business built without it.

You need to go to college, have an MBA. No – college dropouts are now billionaires.
You need lots of venture capital to succeed. No – bootstrapped startups are winning too.
You need an audience. No – ads, SEO, network effects can bring you to profitability too.

In a complex, unpredictable and diversified space like entrepreneurship, there is no weak links. Because there are no rules. No assured attributes that predict winning like in sports. Success is mostly opportunistic and random. Luck plays a major role even though most do not like to admit it.

So there’s opportunity for everyone to win, because the market accepts so much diversity. Just playing to your strengths is sufficient.

Hate money? Don’t bother with unlearn money mindsets. Just do business for my own reasons which I love.

Hate marketing? Then stop doing it. Don’t tweet 3x a day, write 1 thread a week, and all that nonsense. Just be fiercely authentic and genuine, help others, share whatever I feel I want to share and talk about.

Hate all the noise? Don’t worry about best practices and just do what I intuit to be working for me and my business.

Hate the fear of judgement? Don’t worry about how others opine of me. Let them accept me as I come.

I’m so past working on my deficits.

I’m just going to leverage on my strengths and assets, and go.

Strengths > deficits