The Ladder and the Elevator: Choose One
“I promise as much as a man can guarantee against fate.” – Michael Corleone, The Sicilian
The following is an admittedly simplified analogy of most of the disruptive career advice you can read online. I purposely simplify to make a point.
There are two paths. Choose one:
Path one: There is a ladder. It’s waiting for you, and for everyone else. You approach the first notch after stepping outside of a formal education. The notches begin with large spaces between them, slightly miniaturizing as you climb harder and longer. Professional advancement is reliant on someone giving you permission to move ahead, such as a boss or a peer. You trek ahead frustrated, climbing only as fast as time and fate allows. Or, as slow as the guy in front of you.
Path two: There is an elevator. You have to find it carefully, fearlessly and aggressively. It’s usually hidden behind the natural social groups hovering around your desired state, professional or otherwise. The elevator doesn’t imply working less hard than the climbers; it’s actually just the opposite. It’s a battle not to slip off and climb instead. The difference is that the elevator allows you to choose your own floor, reaching levels, heights and speeds out of reach by the climbers. The elevator doesn’t require permission. It only requires a choice–from you.
Before getting overwhelmed, thinking you’ve already fucked up, emailing your favorite writers with problems, questions and admiration, take the time to figure out the path for you. In text, path two sounds more fulfilling, and in my opinion, it probably is. But, it’s not for everyone. Success, depending on how you define it, can follow either way. There is no blueprint.
The common advice, including what I’ve given before when asked, is to start something. Really, just start anything.
I retract that.
Before starting something, make a bold choice between the ladder and the elevator. Even better: make the smarter choice for you, not your ego.
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