For nearly 50 years, New York wasn’t just where I lived. It shaped how I saw the world.
I spent 25 of those years working in Manhattan. If you’ve ever worked there, you know the rhythm.
Everything moves fast.
The expectations are high.
The pressure is constant.
Eighty-hour weeks are not unusual. And no matter how hard you work, there’s always that feeling that you’re still a step behind.
That was normal for me. It was the only model I knew.
Six months ago, I stepped into the CEO role at Luckie, an independent advertising agency with offices in Atlanta and Birmingham and roots in Birmingham that go all the way back to 1953.
I knew the job would stretch me. I knew I’d be splitting my time between Atlanta and Birmingham. What I did not expect was how much time I would end up spending in Birmingham, or how much it would change the way I think about work, leadership, and what makes a place special.
At first, I felt like a tourist.
For the first few months, Birmingham felt unfamiliar in every way. I was taking it in, sizing it up, comparing it to what I knew. Like any New Yorker, I was measuring the pace, the urgency, the edge. I assumed I already knew what I would find.
I was wrong.
People in Birmingham work hard. Very hard. They care. They push. They want to win. The idea that ambition only lives in places like New York is just false.
What surprised me was something else.
In Birmingham, the work can be just as serious, but it doesn’t feel as heavy.
That’s a big distinction.
In Manhattan, there is a kind of pressure that never really lets up. You are always proving yourself. Always chasing the next thing. Always feeling like whatever you did yesterday no longer counts today. You can have a great week and still feel like you are losing ground. After enough years, that starts to feel normal too.
You just keep running.
Birmingham feels different.
You can have a hard day here and still feel good about where you are. You can be surrounded by people who want excellence without making you feel like nothing is ever enough. You can work through real challenges and still come away energized by the people around you and what you are building together.
At Luckie, I’ve seen that spirit up close. This agency has been part of Birmingham since 1953. What also struck me was this: Luckie has been based in Birmingham since 1953, yet the caliber of the work, the clients, and the talent rival what too many people assume only exists in the major advertising hubs.
That is what has stayed with me the most about Birmingham.
It feels like a place where you can actually build something.
Not just keep up. Not just survive. Build.
In New York, control can feel like an illusion. You work harder, move faster, push more, and sometimes it still feels like the machine is so big it’s fighting against you. In Birmingham, I’ve felt something different. I’ve felt that if you are willing to put in the work, you can help shape the outcome. You can influence what comes next. You can make the place better while building something meaningful of your own.
This is not about saying Birmingham is better than New York. New York gave me a lot. It taught me discipline. It taught me resilience. It taught me how to operate at a very high level.
But Birmingham has taught me something New York never did.
You can work incredibly hard without feeling like you are constantly falling short.
You can chase excellence without carrying exhaustion like a badge of honor.
You can lead, build, grow, and still feel like the work is giving something back.
I did not see that coming.
The more time I spend in Birmingham, the more I believe the city has something rare. It has ambition without all the noise. It has talent without all the posturing. It has a way of making hard work feel purposeful and sustainable.
In a world where so many people are burned out, that is not just appealing. That is a real advantage.
And if Birmingham fully recognizes what it has, if it continues to lean into that confidence and pair it with bold ambition, it will not just keep surprising people like me.
It will keep attracting people who want to build something that lasts.
I know that because I never expected to be one of them.
But here I am.
Scott Gelber, CEO of Luckie & Company, brings 30 years of advertising experience helping brands grow by aligning strategy, creativity, media, and technology around clear, effective solutions. He has led work across automotive, finance, healthcare, luxury, CPG, dining, travel, tourism and entertainment, with a focus on helping teams and clients adapt, build new capabilities, and connect with audiences in smarter, more meaningful ways.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
