Walking Dark Roads, Cultivating Lean Fields, Entering Narrow Gates: One Person's Clarity and Practice

You might have noticed the line at the very top of my blog: “走暗路, 耕瘦田, 进窄门” (Walking dark roads, cultivating lean fields, entering narrow gates).

These nine characters represent the path I've chosen for myself, and the personal breakthrough strategy I believe in.

In my opening manifesto, I laid out the path of a "Super Individual." This path (Indie Development + SEO) is inherently one less traveled. In this post, I want to talk about why I feel I must choose this road.

1. What Does "Walking Dark Roads" Mean?

Anyone who walked on country roads at night during their childhood understands the feeling.

There are no streetlights, only moonlight. You can't walk too fast; you take one step, look, then take another, careful of potholes. Maybe a dog is chasing you from behind, and you just have to grit your teeth and run. The scariest part is, you're completely alone.

You constantly look back to see if anyone is following. You have to sing to yourself, shout out loud, anything to keep your spirits up. Just like that, biting the bullet, you make it home.

People grow up step by step like this.

So, "walking dark roads" means not following the crowd.

You choose a path that isn't brightly lit but aligns with your inner needs. Because you know, only this path leads "home," and that destination holds your life's meaning and ultimate value.

On this road, solitude is guaranteed; no one will guide you. When problems arise, you can only actively solve them yourself. You must learn to "think independently."

This path is inevitably long, requiring long-term investment before seeing returns. So, with every step, you can't be shortsighted. You must slow down, experiment through trial and error, accumulate experience, and complete your self-growth in the dark.

2. Why "Cultivating Lean Fields"?

"Cultivating lean fields," not "fertile fields"—this choice might sound "aggrieved," but it's actually "rational."

Because ordinary people lack background, resources, and connections, the "fertile fields" are not yours for the taking. When truly good projects or opportunities finally reach you, it's likely someone is preparing to "slaughter" you (take advantage).

However, "cultivating lean fields" isn't about resigning to fate. It means that when there aren't many paths to choose from, I decide to treat the unremarkable resources I have on hand as "fertile fields" to cultivate.

• Treat the "basic tasks" others look down upon as a craft to be honed.
• Do the simplest things to perfection.
• Slowly accumulate achievements and build your own advantages.

Initially, you'll definitely need to exert great effort to "improve the soil" (like how I need to learn SEO from scratch right now). To outsiders, this might seem like thankless "grunt work." But once roots take hold, you'll make this land fertile.

In the end, this "lean field" (like a "small & beautiful" tool site) can also bear fruit, and crucially, this land, improved by your own hands, truly belongs to you.

3. What is "Entering Narrow Gates"?

The "narrow gate" corresponds to the "wide gate."

What's the "wide gate"? It's what everyone wants, the path everyone chooses, like those brightly lit hotspots. But as mentioned, you can't compete, and even if you squeeze in, it's hard to "get ahead."

The "narrow gate" is about doing things others overlook.

For instance, if everyone is in industry A, I'll further "segment" within that field—niche down by population, niche down by need.

• This is the essence of SEO: targeting "long-tail keywords" instead of "core keywords."
• This is the essence of Indie Development: building "small & beautiful" products, not "big & comprehensive" ones.

I choose to "enter the narrow gate" by focusing on this niche market. As long as I can provide irreplaceable, extreme value to this small group, ideal profits will naturally follow (水到渠成 - shuǐ dào qú chéng: where water flows, a channel forms).

This path (the narrow gate) is difficult at the beginning, progress can be very slow, much like starting a "Flywheel."

You initially use all your strength, and the flywheel barely moves. You must keep pushing, again and again. The process is tedious, the progress so slow it's despairing. But, this is the key to the "Flywheel Effect": every push accumulates momentum. There's always a tipping point where the flywheel's own weight and power take over. It spins faster and faster, steadier and steadier, and eventually, it uses its accumulated energy to pull you along, making the journey easier.

4. The Path You Walk Reflects Your "Cultural Attributes"

I once heard a line in a novel (The Distant Savior [《遥远的救世主》], the original work for the TV drama The Way [《天道》]): "Any destiny, in the final analysis, is a product of cultural attributes. Strong culture creates strong people; weak culture creates weak people." (Note: "Strong/Weak Culture" here refers to specific mindsets described in the novel, not societal judgment).

What does this have to do with "walking dark roads"?

• Weak Culture (Waiting, Relying, Demanding - 等靠要): What path do these people walk? It's "Give me a path." They act passively, waiting for opportunities, relying on others, demanding resources. Many people walk this path because it's "brightly lit," you won't be lonely, and it's lively every day. Your buddies are loyal, fear you'll suffer hardship, and fear even more that you'll succeed wildly (drive a Land Rover).

• Pseudo-Strong Culture (Shortcuts & Crooked Paths): These people walk the "shortcut." They evade the inward search for principles, what the Dao De Jing calls "people favoring side paths (民尚好径)." They chase quick money, hop on trends, take shortcuts, and some even resort to tricks, crossing lines, exploiting loopholes. This path is "seductively lit," benefits are obvious at a glance. But walking it becomes addictive, moving further away from one's true self.

• Strong Culture (The Great Way - 大道): These people proactively seek principles from within. The path they walk is precisely the one of walking dark roads, cultivating lean fields, entering narrow gates.

This road is indeed pitch black; you can't see anything, causing "everyone" to feel the future is uncertain and avoid it.

But precisely because of this, this road lacks the crowding found on the "brightly lit" path. This (for us) isn't about having "no other choice"; it is precisely an "active advance."

Conclusion: The Flywheel Is In Motion

This is my "Way" (Dao), my clarity and practice.

The path is chosen. The flywheel has begun to turn.

This blog is my "logbook," and it will record every single push.