Easy Will Only Get You So Far

By: Stuart Knight (Founder and CEO) | April 23, 2026

Often when I find myself driving down a highway with my kids in the back seat they will eventually ask, “Daddy, why is it taking so long to get to where we’re going?” And my response is always the same.  I say, “Because the best places to go are the hardest ones to get to.”  Now, I’d like to tell you that they then respond by thanking me for my sage words of wisdom, and go back to reading the writings of Socrates.  No, instead they tell me that my response doesn’t make sense, because there have been plenty of places we’ve gone that were less than a two hour drive from where we live.

From their perspective, I get where they are coming from, as there are plenty of amusement parks, arcades and trampoline parks just outside of the city limits, and to them these are the very best places.  However, I often find myself trying to open their eyes to things they will some day appreciate even more than the roller coasters, waterslides and funnel cakes, which requires we take them off the beaten path.  It’s a hell of an effort sometimes, and comes with little thanks, but I know that it will some day be worth it.  

As I write these words, I’m sitting in a hotel room at about 10pm in Banff, Alberta.  I’ve just spent the day speaking at a conference, and now find myself enjoying a glass of wine while I spill out these thoughts.  Side note, if my words don’t end up resonating with you, I blame the wine.  Now, for those of you who have yet to experience this magical place, just imagine waking up in a world where you look up and feel instantly in awe of just how tiny you are, and how big mother nature can be.

To get here I had to take the L Train in Manhattan to the E Train, which I then took to Penn Station, only to transfer to a New Jersey Transit train to Newark Airport, where I hopped onto the shuttle bus to terminal A, then jumped on a 4.5 hour flight, and then got my rental car and drove about two hours to finally get here. In total, I’d say it took about 10 hours.  Was it tiring?  Was it sometimes irritating?  Was it frustrating?  Yes.  Was it worth it?  Also yes.

And this is what I try to teach my children.  Wherever you find yourself, if you want to go somewhere better, you need to be prepared to put in the work.  When you’re young, the work you need to put in might not amount to much because your friends are often not far away, and with a short run across a few playgrounds, you’ll get there.  However, as the years pass you by, and the places you want to go are farther away, the playgrounds you have to cross become wider and longer than they used to be.  

And therein lies the problem for most people.  With age, they don’t like the newfound effort required to get to those places that were once easy to arrive at.  Personally, I can relate to that wholeheartedly, because I too feel the same resentment as I compare what is required today to what was needed in the past.  However, at the same time, I am reminded of what a waste of time it is wishing a world designed by billions was different, when it simply is what it is.

As an adult, nothing would make me happier than to look out my bedroom window, and see all of my favourite people, knowing that I can join the party simply by running out the front door.  But that’s not the reality of life anymore.  Today, to get to the good stuff, I have to be willing to take the longer road.  Whether it’s building a new company, moving somewhere foreign, establishing new friendships, redefining boundaries or plain old taking an uncommon vacation, to get there I have to accept that it will take work.  Sometimes, a lot of work.

I used to hate that reality, but now I find myself willing to embrace it more than before because I’ve seen how a life expands when it achieves that which can only be accomplished through a series of cuts, bruises and broken limbs.  Do you want the kind of relationships, career, living situation, friends and feeling of adventure that you only see in the movies?  Well, I’ve come to learn that you can have it, but only if you’re willing to put in the work.  And yes, that work may create discomfort, uncertainty and days of going without, but all of that always pales in comparison to what you get when you come out on the other side.

But that requires a blind faith that only you can choose whether you will trust in. Something tells me that if you do, when you find yourself facing your final breath, you won’t regret it.

Much Love,

Stuart

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