# Stumbling Across The Profound

By [JOT](https://paragraph.com/@jot) · 2024-05-13

business, jotsblog, understandingcustomers

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To ‘stumble’ is to trip, lose balance, and _almost_ fall.

To ‘stumble across’ is to find something by chance.

...

It’s natural to want a smooth, easy path.

However life without stumbles would be easy… and what’s easy gets boring.

...

Sometimes you find yourself having ‘stumbled’ into a place you didn’t intend to be.

That could be;

A job you didn’t plan for.

A house you didn’t intend to move into.

Habits you didn’t mean to form.

These aren't necessarily missteps. They're part of the journey.

You can stumble _up_ the stairs;

Stumble _across_ a great book.

Stumble your words in a presentation - _whilst_ still getting the message across_._

In life, you stumble all the time.

And what we sometimes stumble upon, can be profound.

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I _stumbled_ across something profound this week.

A new book. ’Building a Story Brand’ by Donald Miller.

First off, I’m not a marketer, and that’s why I was surprised to find myself reading a book on marketing. However, after chapter one, I was hooked.

If you run a business, speak to customers, or speak to anyone, this book is important to you.

Here are some of my key highlights;

**Pretty websites dont sell things. Words sell things.**

**The Human brain is drawn to clarity, not confusion.**

**Stories help when communicating as they are a make sense mechanism.**

**What we think we are saying to our customers and what our customers hear are two different things.**

**People don't buy the best products they buy the products they can understand the fastest**

**Your product should solve the three types of problems your customer has; External, Internal & Philosophical.**

So, this book… I thought it may have been a waste of time, but turns out, it opened my mind to a new perspective of thinking about customers and writing in general.

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The next time you find yourself stumbling—be it over your words, on a step, or in your plans—don’t just write it off as a mistake. See it as an invitation. An invitation to venture out, to uncover something, and maybe, just maybe, to stumble across something profound.

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*Originally published on [JOT](https://paragraph.com/@jot/stumbling-acros-the-profound)*