There Are Elevators to Success.
8 Great Lessons Riding an Elevator Teaches Us about Getting There.
Did you know?
Jobs, contracts, million-dollar business deals, venture funds, and even marriages have been sealed — or at least have their origins — in an elevator ride.
By their nature, elevators are places where surprises happen. They are places you meet unexpected people — people who can change your life in a matter of minutes, depending on how you behave.
Since how we do anything — the principles we apply — is how we do everything, our approach, attitudes, and manners on elevators can help us understand why we are where we are in life and how we can get to a better place.
From how you step into the elevators and how you step out and everything in between, the actions we take in those few seconds offer solid lessons that could be applied to our lives.
Here are eight of those lessons.
- Show up, and be ready to go.
Just like elevators, success will not pick you up from your bedroom. You’ve got to want to succeed and then put in the work.
You’ve got to get up, dress up and step out of where you are, and move toward the things — the elevators — that would take you to that destination.
The most crucial step in taking an elevator is to prepare and be there when the doors open. This goes for success in anything in life, as well. Woody Allen said it succinctly. “80% of success is just showing up”. Show up.
2. Be patient; wait for your time.
Once you show up, your success will come at the right time. Like elevators get to every waiting rider on every floor, success does come to those who wait.
Without patience, you may end up missing the right elevator. At best, you may find yourself in one crowded with people, leaving you no room for comfort, and in a pandemic world, putting your health in jeopardy.
Like any worthy journey in life, using an elevator to get anywhere is a battle, albeit a mini one. As Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “to lose patience is to lose the battle.” Be patient, and your elevator will come. Don’t lose the battle.
3. Keep the entranceway free — don’t block people’s way to progress.
Your success comes faster when you remove obstructions from other people’s paths to success. As you are expected to do waiting to get on an elevator, you don’t block the way of riders stepping forward to their destination.
Just like elevators, the quicker you help others get around, the quicker you get to your destination too.
Everybody desires a smooth ride or at least one that is devoid of unnecessary blockages.
Whatever you can do, wherever you are and however you can, make it easy for other people to progress in their lives. That is the fastest way to get on the elevator to your success.
4. Your destiny is in your hands — literally.
Once you get on the elevator, it is up to you to press the buttons and choose where you want to go.
In life, no matter your circumstance of birth or where you come from, you are given special gifts. You are born with an elevator — all of us are.
I recently came across the inspiring story of Jennifer Bricker, an American acrobat and aerialist, who was born without her two legs, but went on to win Tumbling Champion and even wrote a New York Times Bestseller: Everything Is Possible.
Before his murder conviction (shooting of his girlfriend), Oscar Pistorius, the South African blade runner, whose two legs were amputated at 11 months old, emerged as the first amputee to win a non-disabled world track medal at the 2011 World Championship in Athletes.
Just like you choose the floor the elevator should take you to, the power to choose your destiny — your success — is in your hands. Press the bottoms, take responsibility, take actions, and voilà, your destination — your success.
5. Good manners matter
Elevators are places with many surprises, including the possibility of meeting people that could change your life for good; it is always good to be on your best behavior.
Regardless of whom you meet, how they look, and how they treat you, make it a point to say hello, smile, avoid doing things that make people uncomfortable, and, when possible, give your co-riders their personal space.
I am not saying you should go in there and clean everyone’s shoes. I am only asking you to remember the words of Justice Clarence Thomas: “good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.”
Even when you ride elevators alone, it is still important to behave as though people are around you. And people are around you. The cameras are watching. Look beautiful even when you ride solo.
6. Help your co-riders — make the ride an experience.
The few seconds of co-habitation on an elevator offer an ample opportunity to help your co-riders, make an impression, and get rewarded.
Whether it is holding the door for another rider, smiling at them as they walk in, assisting them in punching in their floor number, making sure they leave with their complete belongings, or obliging them with any specific request, there are always opportunities to make life easier for others.
Elevators are good places for human connection — a commodity becoming scarcer every day.
Connection made on an elevator could last years and lead to amazing benefits for parties so connected. A simple act of kindness usually ignites this connection. When you next ride the elevator, let this act of kindness emanate from you.
7. Watch out, don’t step out on the wrong floor.
How often do you mistakenly get out of the elevator thinking you’ve arrived at your destination? How often do you assume that you have achieved something, only to find out later you are not yet there?
How did you feel about those experiences? Embarrassed, confused, and in the eyes of some of your co-riders or people around you, disorganized.
Suppose you went for an interview, and the CEO or the hiring manager of the organization was on the same elevator and witnessed your little drama. In that case, you might have bought yourself a deal breaker, especially if the role requires attention to detail, organization, and being alert.
Just as you need to do on an elevator to get to your destination, success in life requires keeping your eyes on the ball, not giving up too early, sticking it out to the end, and making sure that the job gets done.
8. How you leave matters
Your attitude towards your co-riders at the point of your departure is as important as those at any other time during your ride.
People are humans, not a piece of aluminum or steel. You might not have met them before or know them from Adam, but it is important to honor the greatness in them when you leave.
Leave a great impression in the minds of everyone you meet on the elevator. This is especially crucial when those people are people you know and meet regularly.
It is a bad manner to dash out of the elevator without saying goodbye to the familiar faces you have been riding with.
Conclusion
You may be asking: ‘why is Adams making a big deal out of a few seconds I spend on an elevator?’ Let me shock you with the amazing things that happen every few seconds.
First impressions (often made in a few seconds) last long, and as they say, “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” So, every second you spend presenting yourself the best way before the world, anywhere in the world, is to your advantage.
In a few seconds, lives are made, while others are transformed for good. Studies show that every second, five new babies are born into the world. That doesn’t seem to be that much. Well, until you hear this.
That number amounts to 250 new babies per minute, 1,500 per hour, and 360,000 babies per day.
That’s how every second of showing up, every second of patience, and every second of good behavior towards another person — on the elevator and in life generally — accumulates into something meaningful for you.
There are indeed elevators to success. They are those few seconds of thoughtful actions and demonstration of great attitude.
