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Take the Stairs
Small, uncomfortable choices will create outsized separation over time.
Zach Brandon
January 26, 2026
Great News!
I just released my first guest interview of 2026 on the Win More, Live Better podcast.
And if you missed any conversations from last year, you can now find every 2025 guest interview on YouTube (playlist here).
The 2%
Imagine you’re walking through a busy airport, hotel, or shopping center. Ahead of you, side by side, are two options: A set of stairs and an escalator.
Without thinking too much about it, which one do you usually choose?
For most people, the answer is the escalator. Research consistently shows that only a small percentage (around 2%) opt for the stairs when both options are available.
This pattern probably shouldn’t be a surprise. As human beings, we’re wired to conserve energy, seek comfort, and avoid unnecessary strain. Our brain’s primary job is to keep us safe and help us survive so it naturally nudges us toward options that feel easier and more efficient in the moment.
The challenge is that what keeps us comfortable in the short term often limits our growth in the long term. Comfort is efficient in the moment, but it can be expensive and costly over time.
Becoming excellenct (regardless of the craft or setting) has always required a willingness to do what most people consistently avoid.
The escalator saves effort now. The stairs builds your capacity for later.
So the question becomes what are you willing to choose, over and over again, that others routinely pass on so you can produce results most people never will?
What are you willing to do to be part of the 2%?
What the Best Are Willing to Do
During the 2023 Major League season, I had the opportunity to spend time around 3-time All-Star and 16-season MLB veteran, Evan Longoria, and observe the impact he could have inside a clubhouse.
I loved asking him questions about his mindset and daily process, but one thing stood out above the rest: His willingness to take ownership, especially when things weren’t going his way or when he felt he needed to give more to help the team.
That stood out even more when I heard him reinforce the same idea on the No Show Dogs, hosted by my friend Derin McMains. Derin asked Evan a question they pose to every guest (which I love BTW): “What were the things that you were willing to do that others weren’t that helped you have success in your career?”
Longoria responded with the following, “One thing I’ve always been really good at is taking a really hard look at myself internally…and being honest.”
That’s taking the stairs.
For many people, the escalator shows up as an excuse or blame. Or a story about circumstances, politics, bad luck, or timing. You can spend a lot of energy explaining why something isn’t your fault or you can spend that energy producing results. I was grateful to witness Longoria model the latter at the highest level, especially at the tailend of an already incredible career.
I saw a similar theme show up in a different way in 2024 when we brought in professional bullrider, Trey Holston, to speak to our minor league players during a winter camp focused on resilience.
Trey shared the systems and habits that helped his career take off (many of which were inspired from the book Atomic Habits). What stuck with me most, though, was how unsexy his answer was when asked what separates him.
He described being willing to do the little things he says he’s going to do. Every day. He doesn’t compromise his standards. He doesn’t negotiate with himself.
He didn’t have a hidden hack. He didn’t have a secret sauce or magic bullet. He was simply willing to “take the stairs” every day by committing to and following through on what he said he would.
Are You Choosing the Stairs or the Escalator?
Now it’s your turn to take a quick audit and ask yourself two questions:
Where am I already taking the stairs and seeing results because of it? If something is working, protect it. Don’t drift from it with compromises and negotiation.
Where have I been riding the escalator without realizing it? Where have comfort, convenience, or avoidance crept into my daily habits?
Final Thoughts
Most people don’t fail because they lack talent or ambition. They stall because they drift toward comfort.
The escalator doesn’t feel dangerous. In fact, it feels efficient. But over time, it carries you to the same place as everyone else.
The stairs are different. They demand effort. They ask something of you. And they reward consistency, not intensity.
You don’t need to take every stair at once. You just need to choose them more often than you choose the escalator. That’s how separation is created.