I adore Stranger Things.
And this should come as no surprise because, if you know me, you probably also know that I adore the Steph(v)ens: King and Spielberg, of course.
My dad read me Firestarter when I was 10 and gifted me his copy of The Gunslinger, all 7 tomes, that sit beside the first edition Harry Potter on my bookshelf. My mom took me to see Hook in the theaters when I was 7 and brought Duel home from Blockbuster when I was home sick in middle school.
When we took a family vacation to Nantucket, we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard for a day just to do the Jaws tour.
I have spent countless hours under the Steph(v)ens' spell. I feel like their storytelling magic is baked into my DNA.
So why on earth did it take 3 full viewings of Stranger Things to pinpoint one particular moment very early on that set the stage for Steven Spielberg fans everywhere to feel as cozy in Hawkins as they are on Amity Island?
(Let's be honest: Stephen King fans were hooked from the jump by the title font, the soundtrack, and the fact that the episodes were called "Chapters".)
The answer is, of course, that the Duffer Brothers are masters of the art of honoring.
And there's a very important Easter egg in here for all of us who are looking for a takeaway to apply to our businesses. It's one that can shift our owner's mindset profoundly and give us permission to custom tailor how we do business to fit into the larger vision of how we wish to live our lives.
We can get waylaid by all the shoulds and good ideas around us. We can end up feeling small and unworthy, constantly behind the 8 ball of all the things we feel we're supposed to be doing.
But the truth is that you don't need a bigger boat. You can do whatever you want because you're the chief of...well, probably not the police...but definitely your own business.
The Duffer Brothers offer us a masterclass in homage and a permission slip to buck the trends and cultivate your own originality while still standing on the shoulders of giants.
I hope the lesson here helps you root deep into what matters most to you and create your business on your own terms.