Last week, Max—my son—and I went night skiing.

If you’re in Utah, you know how rough the snow has been this year. We didn’t even see real snow until mid-December. Resorts were struggling, and we were itching to get out.

Then suddenly, in four or five days, the mountains got slammed with more than five feet of snow.

We were fired up.

Lindsey had bought Max a pass that included an hour-long lesson, then free skiing the rest of the night. The plan was simple: Max goes to his lesson, I ski solo, everyone wins.

We left right after school. No traffic. Great mood.

Then, about a mile from the resort…

Stopped.

Not slow. Completely stopped.

Cars everywhere. Barely moving. No accident. Just chaos. The resort had oversold tickets and couldn’t handle the parking.

I’m frustrated.

Then Max looks at me and says,
“Is this why you like Sundance better?”

He was right.

Sundance isn’t technically better. The trees aren’t as good. The terrain isn’t as good.

But there’s no stress.

We finally arrived an hour late. Missed the lesson. I was annoyed and questioning the whole decision.

And that’s when a thought hit me:

Don’t sell the trip. Sell the vacation.

This applies directly to sales—and to business.

Think about vacation commercials.
They never show TSA lines.
They never show missed connections.
They never show crying kids or waiting 45 minutes to check into a hotel.

They show smiling faces.
Cold drinks.
Ocean views.

They sell the outcome.

They sell the vacation—not the trip.

Homeowners don’t buy transformers.

They don’t buy wire gauges, trenching, photocells, timers, or voltage drop.

They buy:

• Pride when they pull into the driveway

• Neighbors slowing down to look

• A backyard sanctuary

• Safety

• Beauty

• Status

They buy the dream.

And too many lighting designers accidentally sell the trip.

They talk about trenching.
They talk about access panels.
They talk about maintenance plans before the emotion is ever created.

That’s like a cruise company saying,
“Hey, you’ll need to be at the airport at 5am and your room won’t be ready until 4pm.”

It might be true—but it doesn’t make anyone want to go.

Sell the dream first. Protect the dream second.

Now here’s the cool part.

Once we finally got on the mountain…

The snow was unreal.

It was freezing—I still can’t feel part of my toe—but it was the best night skiing I’ve ever had.

The frustration of the drive completely disappeared once the vacation started.

And that’s when it really clicked.

Most business owners quit in the canyon.

They quit when:

• Hiring gets hard

• Leads slow down

• Clients push back on price

• Cash flow feels tight

They question everything before they ever reach the payoff.

But the ones who win?

They’re willing to sit in traffic longer than everyone else.

Every great business—just like every great ski night—starts with a frustrating drive.

But if you don’t quit in the canyon, it can end with an unforgettable ride.

So don’t sell the trip.
Sell the vacation.

And whatever you do…

Don’t quit in the canyon.

If you need to borrow some of my confidence this week, that’s fine—just remember I need it back.

Keep moving forward,
Ryan Lee

# selling the dream, sell the vacation not the trip, business mindset, sales psychology, entrepreneurship lessons, lighting design sales, customer experience, perseverance in business, marketing strategy #