Success in the Stairway: Your Path to the Top

Imagine walking into a 20 story office building, knowing that your upcoming meeting is on the top floor.

You walk into the building and immediately search for the elevators.

To your surprise, and disappointment, some of the elevators show "out of order" signs and the rest are currently being worked on by a team of repairmen.

You ask one of the repairmen how to get up to your meeting on the 20th floor, and he points to a nearby door and says with a shrug, "you`ll have to take the stairs."

While a situation exactly like this may have never happened to you, metaphorically, it`s your life.

You want to reach top of your career, the top of the pay scale, the pinnacle of success.

You want to not only do well, but find the shortcuts or "elevator" to the top.

While you know your success in any endeavor, personal or professional requires some effort, wouldn`t you like to make it as painless and easy as possible (which, of course, is why we consistently look for the elevator or the fast track)?

There are no "overnight" successes.

Great success comes from "taking the stairs" and moving towards your goals one step at a time.

As you start to walk up the stairs to your meeting, you realize that while you would have rather ridden, there are some advantages to the stairway.

You are getting exercise, building your stamina, gaining a new perspective, creating a new experience and as you climb the last flight of stairs you realize the pride that comes from the effort!

All of these things are true for the effort you put into life. The efforts you expend create exactly these same benefits: exercise, stamina, perspective, experience and pride.

Given the metaphor of "success in the stairway," what are the ways you can take the reality of effort and make the most of your effort, improving your likelihood of reaching the top floor as quickly as possible?

There are five ways you can use your effort intelligently to make your path to the top straighter and more direct - even if you do have to walk:

Informed effort (find the correct stairway). Many people believe that to create great results you must work hard. Effort, as you`re already seen in this article, is required, but the effort doesn`t have to be hard. More important hard work is informed effort. Are you doing things the way other successful people have done them? Are you taking time to learn the things that will minimize your effort? Make your effort more informed and you will make your job easier.

Continual effort (keep walking). Getting into the stairway is great, but you won`t reach the top unless you keep walking. In order to be successful you must make continual effort. What did you do last week to move towards your success? What about yesterday? What have you done (or will you do) to create greater success today?

Reframe effort (does it have to be work?). If you always think about your work being hard, guess what it will be? (Here`s a hint - it will be hard.) But does work have to be hard? Could it be enjoyable? Could it be rewarding? Once you create a new frame of reference for effort, you make climbing the steps to your success so much easier.

Collaborative effort (why not climb together?). Find others to travel with you. When most people feel like a part of something larger than themselves - whether through a teammate or a friend -they will be more disciplined and more effective. Who do you know that could mentor you or work with you or support you? Or, who can you mentor, help or support?

Enthusiastic effort (enjoy the trip). Choose to enjoy the trip up the stairs. The fact is the elevator is broken; the walk is real and necessary. Why not choose to find the positive and enjoy the experience? You know that when you are enjoying a situation it goes faster and easier - and you are probably more productive as well. You know this is true. Make the choice to be more enthusiastic and positive.

Yes, effort is definitely still required, but these are things you can do to make that effort more effective and enjoyable.
Potential Pointer: Success in any area of life requires effort - there is no free lunch. But how you view and tackle that effort will make all the difference in the speed and ease with which you climb your path to the top.

Author's Bio

Kevin Eikenberry

If you are looking for a way to make the path straighter and faster to your leadership success, you can activate a free 2-month trial in leadership and learning expert with Kevin Eikenberry’s Remarkable Leadership Learning System. Kevin is an author, speaker, trainer, consultant and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps organizations, teams and individuals unleash their leadership potential.

Getting Back to Basics

It can happen to all of us. We have a library of books. We attend meetings and seminars. We read blogs and listen to those we know. We have experience as a leader and being led. We have all of this knowledge available to us about leadership.

All of this "stuff" can get in our way.

Sometimes it really is best to get back to basics.

If you ask great athletes about the details and particulars of their sport, they can give you tons of technical details, any yet they still practice the fundamentals. Ask great presenters about their craft and they can tell you stories and walk about techniques, and in the end they will tell you to focus on your audience and the core of your message.

So it should be for leaders.

You have plenty of resources around you. You have plenty of books on the shelves. You have plenty of people who can tell you what great leadership is and looks like. All of it is valuable. All of it is helpful and all of it can help you be more effective - but only if you place it on a firm foundation.

Several times I`ve asked groups to describe leadership in six words - just six words. I urge them to write a phrase, not just six adjectives.

And that`s what I am asking you to do now.

When you have your six word description you can return.

It doesn`t have to be perfect or a complete sentence. Let go of your inner judge and just describe leadership . . . in six words.

Right now.

Stop reading, pick up your pen and write. (It`s OK, I`m not going anywhere.)

Welcome back!

If you are expecting me to give you the scoring key or tell you the right answer, you`re going to be disappointed.

I could give you a list of things to consider - but I won`t.
Now is the time for you to think about the fundamentals as you see them. Because how you see them has value and makes a difference.

Read your six words right now. Listen to what they are saying - and what they`re not. Then think about how well you practice these fundamentals every day, regardless of your role or job title.

Let your six words sit with you for a few hours or overnight.

Then edit them if you feel you can improve your description.
Once you`ve finalized your description write it somewhere easily accessible.

Carry it with you and read it out loud three times a day for the next month. After you read it take a minute to think about what you can do in that moment to more completely do those words in your work and life.

At the end of thirty days you will be a more effective leader - not because of what someone else said but because of what you did.

And what you did was practice the fundamentals.

Potential Pointer: You will become a more effective leader when you continue to learn, but only when you build your lessons on a foundation of the leadership basics. Remind yourself of, and practice your fundamentals and you are on your way to becoming a truly Remarkable Leader.

Author's Bio

Kevin Eikenberry

If you are looking for a way to make the path straighter and faster to your leadership success, you can activate a free 2-month trial in leadership and learning expert with Kevin Eikenberry’s Remarkable Leadership Learning System. Kevin is an author, speaker, trainer, consultant and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps organizations, teams and individuals unleash their leadership potential.