Turns out, it might not be the smartest thing. I mean, if you’re in a wheelchair, it’s a given. And, of course, if you’re at the point you need a walker, well…. No judgement from me if that is your reality. And if someone else is giving you a hard time, well, let me know. I’ve got your back.

It’s that period of time when we start helping our parents- or ourselves- move towards more ideal living. Maybe a condo? No more dealing with the yard. Or the driveway. No more snow or, really, any kind of less-than-ideal weather. We start admiring the bungalows of friends and neighbors because, isn’t it nice, you don’t have to do any stairs…

To be clear, not an issue for me. But my side of my family…my husband’s side… this is suddenly something we’ve been hyper aware of, seriously considering and talking to people about.

Keeping stuff on one level seems… Smart.

In business, knowing exactly who your customer is, talking to them, selling to them and moving on to find someone else exactly the same is… Smart. And doing it all over again, cycle after cycle, seems pretty well ideal, doesn’t it? I mean, you got into business so that you could ply your trade, sell your stuff, provide service, and make a living… Hopefully a really good living.

When we say make a living, of course, we’re talking about making a life.

But how much fun is life if every time you walk up to and take a swing at your golf ball you get a hole in one? How much fun is having the ability to play an instrument- any instrument- every time you pick up a new one? Trombone or otherwise, you just know how to own it. Sure, we can still put a lot of heart and emotion into any of the fun things we do. But the technical part of it, if we don’t have to strive for it, is it still fun?

“The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”
Proverbs 13:4

Okay – so you’ll not be fully satisfied if there is no need for diligence.

“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too I see is from the hand of God.”
Ecclesiastes 2:24

That’s a little closer. Roughly translated into Leah Speak: “It’s more fun if you work for it.”

We have all heard and seen 1,000 bits of marketing that are technically perfect. It’s that marketing that tells your name, what you do, how long you’ve been doing it, maybe even how much it’s gonna cost. Like eating a dry, white bread sandwich. My special-needs brother stuck in the hospital tosses those sandwiches in the bin. “They wrecked it. It’s dry, there’s no onions. I thought it would be good. But it’s boring… So I threw it out.”

There’s a lot of stuff in the world of marketing that should be thrown out.

And it’s usually stuff that’s pretty easy. Cookie cutter. Maybe the first time it worked wonders, but wow, now it’s just stars fading away as the sun comes up. The sun’s the next new thing, and the stars aren’t shedding light on anything anymore.

When Shawn and I were first looking for a house, we wanted a bungalow. No space wasted on stairs, lots of room, you know, a typical three bedrooms up and room for fun downstairs. But what we found was a four-level split. The top two levels equal main floor space in a bungalow, and the bottom two levels… well, that’s a basement only, not really a basement. And I have had moments over the past decades blowing up and down those stairs when I wanted a bungalow… Desperately.

But… those stairs, certain times, it was the only exercise I had. Two out of three of my beautiful Bumphrey boys were C-section babies, and I remember thinking I would never be able to bound those stairs again, certainly not holding onto those little 7-poundish bundles of wonder.

But the stairs kept me moving in a different way. It was up and down, and it forced change. Each level is a unique, specific part of the house made easily possible by separation. Those stairs are actually portals to each level that have changed and grown with our family.

Even now that we are back to no kids and two cats.

My parents love their one-level condo. But my dad- well, no more yard work. That he actually kinda loved. It gave him a reason. And no stairs means, well, no stairs. My mom? No stairs, but she still walks and moves and swims. She has created the equivalent of stairs and so doesn’t need them.

In your marketing, think stairs. Don’t look for the flat surface. Look for something that’s gonna genuinely irritate.

And no, I’m not gonna talk about an oyster and how it’s a bit of sand that irritates it and becomes a pearl because that’s really overdone.

But I am gonna say, don’t be too quick to pick the bungalow over the place with stairs. Because those stairs might be a portal to business growth you never imagined… stairs or stars… Stairs to your North Star? One letter can really solidify an image, can’t it?

Challenging marketing that insists on showcasing your differences, pushing a little and even taking a deep breath before you start… When you look back, you’ll feel like you’re on top of the mountain. That’s usually because you are.

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