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The advantages of others are not your disadvantages

A great quote that's really resonated with me for a while is 'the advantages of others are not your disadvantages'.

For context, this quote was originally given in the context of fitness by Andrew Tracey (AT). AT was working a mad number of hours, was on the road all the time and didn't have a gym. He was also trying to make his way in the industry as a fitness influencer. While many would have given up, because everyone else has the advantage of a nice gym facility and meal prepping, he saw it as an opportunity. He started working out outside, using quick workout protocols (so he could fit it in with work), and minimal equipment (sled pulling his car instead of a flashy sled etc). The outcome is glorious, he's now very successful in his niche (of nomadic fitness fiends), is an editor at Men's Health (off the back of this - despite no journalism experience), and has competed as an athlete in numerous competitions.

I think this quote and the analogy is very applicable to what a lot of us do.

As Indie Hackers we're often trying to compete against highly funded startups, or conversely monolithic established companies. It's really easy to feel disheartened. However, in those moments it's worth considering that quote.

Reality is, their advantage of money or size, aren't inherently a disadvantage to you. In fact, it could be the opposite, it could be an opportunity. Whether their size means they're less agile than you, or you hone in on a niche that they cannot due to a widespread customer base, there are always opportunities. Your lack of time might mean that you're able to build something that's wildly scalable, giving you freedom and financial reward. Some may end in failure, but it's not because of the advantages of others.

I hope this helps give a little boost to anyone feeling like they're struggling, as I think it's often underrepresented how hard being an Indie Hacker can be at times.

Keep up the awesome work guys :)

  1. 1

    That quote reminds me of some of Robert Wright's ideas about what one might call "non-zero-sum gameism" - e.g.:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonzero:_The_Logic_of_Human_Destiny
    https://nonzero.org/

    1. 1

      @jtc, Yes! That's a perfect (and more efficient) way of summing it up!

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