Take the Elevator
This podcast is purely about elevating people through individual life stories and experiences in the Elevator. In the Elevator, what's key is maybe changing your perspective; having self-actualization; embracing your purpose; and acting on it as we grow from one another. There is a whole different point of view when you look up to elevate.
Take the Elevator
321st Floor: A Playful Approach to Serious Success in the Office
Hey there, fellow mischief-makers and productivity seekers! It's Gen the Builder and Kory, and we've just wrapped up a podcast episode that's like a delightful box of chocolates—you never know what you're going to get! Get ready to clutch your sides with laughter as we recount the epic April Fool's prank that had a team in a tizzy. Imagine finding a trail of breadcrumbs leading to my 'resignation'—only to discover it's all in jest! We even take a stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about the pranks that once had us all doubled over, courtesy of our former CEO. Trust us, this episode is a testament to how a pinch of playfulness can transform any workspace into a hub of happiness.
Ever heard the saying, "Not my dog, not my fight"? Well, buckle up, because we're about to drop some serious wisdom bombs on choosing your battles and kicking procrastination to the curb. By adopting the 'eat that frog' approach, you too can learn to conquer those daunting tasks with the courage of a knight facing a dragon. Our chat is crammed with stories and strategies that are sure to sharpen your professional sword and shield, as we unveil the secrets to boosting your productivity and maintaining that competitive edge.
But wait—there's more! We're breaking down the 1-3-5 method, but with a twist that allows you to customize it to your unique rhythm and groove. Personal growth takes the stage as we share the beauty of our individual paths and the significance of respecting one another's choices on this journey called life. As we sign off, I playfully pitch "The Amazing Prank" show (hands off, it's ours!) and beam with gratitude for the fresh starts that April showers upon us.
Look up, and let's elevate!
hey, it's jen the builder and cory.
Speaker 2:By the way, take three because we were having so much fun today. This has been a blast, jen, and I just gotta say that, jen, we both know that you are a very huge prankster, but not a lot of people may be aware of this. Can you please share your story? That happened earlier today?
Speaker 1:absolutely. And then you're gonna explain the take three, right, because they're gonna be like what do they mean by take three? Um, yeah, so when we were right now in our world it is April 1st and, corey, I work from home on Mondays and I was like what am I going to do on a Monday from home? I'm by myself, our son isn't feeling so well, so he's definitely not socializing with me, right? So let me explain something to everyone listening. Welcome, by the way, thanks for being here. So on Monday mornings, I send like this good morning, happy Monday, hope you had a wonderful weekend. Tell us all about the great work that we get to do this week. Can't wait to hear all about it. All, right, it's just a touch point sharing our priorities wrapping up yes yes, no, actually starting the day, yeah, and starting the week, right.
Speaker 1:So I thought if I do the april fool's joke right now, it's going to be so obvious like jen, let that go. It's not happening. So I let it go and I'm waiting to see if anyone's really doing any jokes in my team Not really Right, cause we're all super busy, I guess. And then I'm like nah, nah, nah, nah, april 1st is not going down without one, so I send a. So there were two things going on off the same joke, so in one chat room which is with my team, and then there's another chat room which is with my director and the other managers, right? So I don't know about you all, but I hope y'all can relate If I were to say, hey, we've got some IT issues. There's these IT requests, it demands, it changes, like, I'm sure everyone's gonna be like, yeah, that's a real legit right absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:So I thought I'm gonna stick with the it thing, because no one's gonna think this is a prelude to a prank.
Speaker 1:So I reach out to the leader chat and I said everyone, so tags everyone. Hey, just want you to know, be careful what documents you are saving in the system, because IT is coming down. They just reached out to me and then I left it alone, right. And so immediately, surprise, face emojis, exclamation points like question mark, question mark, yeah, what's going on? So I said, well, they're going through the system and they reached out to me about my documents as if there's nothing more or better that they can do right now. Like, seriously, this is priority. I can't believe this.
Speaker 1:So I send them a screenshot of a google drive image and it has a bunch of folders. The thing is, is the folders are classically done? Yes, so there's a folder that says um past images that I don't want to delete, um messages from my old job. I don't want to delete videos on why dogs are better than cats. Shark tank um ideas, yes, um dr phil, auditions side hustle ideas. And then here here it comes resume, dot, final, dot, final, dot, final, dot, final, dotinal right. So it's clear that I'm working on my resume. And then there's the um resignation letter, and so my boss is like is this an April Fool's joke or is this real?
Speaker 1:and so everyone's going nuts like oh my gosh, you almost had me, especially because it said Dr Phil audition, because Jen, you would so do something like that. And I can't believe like it was believable someone looking at me that this would be the title of my folders right right, and so we just had a great time with that.
Speaker 1:So that was so much fun to get that in before the end of the day. Now, with my team, I said, hey, are you having issues on Teams which again happens especially on a Monday and everyone's like, no, not right now. I did this morning. Oh, I do when I'm using it on Chrome, but not on Edge. Well, I'm on Edge, I'm having issues, but these are weird issues, like I'm sending a chat and it goes in another area, or people I'm receiving chats that aren't meant for me. It's all over the place. I'm calling it right now and I leave it alone and I stay silent. And then I put this random chat in there, right, as as my team, beautifully, they're empathizing with me, this, that team, right, and so I put this random chat and they're like, uh-oh, there's a message in here that we weren't supposed to see. I'm like dang it right.
Speaker 1:I said it's happening, so then I send the screenshot in here and it's kind of like crickets right, because they't know. They just think they've seen their boss's folder and it says resignation letter and they've now determined what my exit plan is. To go on Dr Phil, exactly. So everyone's like Jen, what's happening here? And then they finally got it and we had a good laugh. But anyways, cory, I found that image on google.
Speaker 2:I love the internet for things like this, like um pranks for april fools working from home, absolutely and and just to give you the temperature of these type of uh events, if we can call them, we learned from one of the best. The former CEO used to do things like this as well. You know, Jen and I worked together not together, but at the same company and one year we got a letter on Friday, and it was the day before April Fool's Right.
Speaker 2:It says March 31st, yeah, and basically, this letter was breaking down to the entire company that we were entering into a new system. It's a new era, a new way of being, and we're going to be at the cusp and the front of the line of this new system by being able to cash our checks via microchip in our hands, and we would get these microchips implanted and then badge in, yeah, scan into the building and we wouldn't have to carry badges anymore. And so it had all the earmarks of what we've always known as the mark of the beast and it just flipped everyone out and had us just really on edge and pins and needles, and immediately I looked at the calendar and said, oh, no, no, no, no, not me, not this time. And this had been going on since I'd been in the company. So, yeah, we've had a history of phenomenal pranks played on us.
Speaker 1:Well, yes, and let's explain where that prank went actually, and I'm not kidding, right away I got scared. I'm like oh my gosh. So for those who don't know about the mark of the beast in the bible, it's in revelations, right, it's like end of the world stuff, almost judgment day kind of thing yeah so I'm thinking it's here and and so I just thought about I'm like'm like wait a minute right, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:I emailed you and said you know it's April Fool's right.
Speaker 1:And what'd I say? You said, Because I don't remember. You said dang it.
Speaker 2:I think he got us again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, speaking of getting us, there was someone at work who called her pastor in a frenzy and was just like you know, I can only imagine like you're not going to believe this. It's happening in my work. And there probably was conversation what do I do? I need this job. I have, you know, like I'm in a, in a moral crisis right now. So, anyways, um, she reached out to the ceo to kind of personally what's what?
Speaker 2:and?
Speaker 1:he had apologized. You know that he did that it was and just explained it was a total prank and I I will just say that's the point of a prank is to make people believe it's true and yeah, to make sure it's true and make it believable and sell that sucker.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like never before and what is it?
Speaker 1:because the one that went out today from our new ceo I actually believe that one. So you already know it's april 1st, but you just I don't know your emotions like take over. Did you read it?
Speaker 2:no, I missed okay.
Speaker 1:So he mentioned in the letter that we're going back to this archaic piece of crack crap not crack piece of crap software that we used a long time ago and he says it's antiquated, it's dated, but we believe it's going to take us into the future, especially for our new lines of business, because the power it has to speak to ai or ai to speak to it, right so? And there have just been so many changes and that's the thing you get emotional, like another change and why are we doing this one? Oh, I missed it.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was good, it was good. Oh man, I gotta go read that one that that would have really made my day. It was good.
Speaker 1:Me and this other person were like how are they going to train in this?
Speaker 2:What does this look like and what happened and why are we taking steps back, so apparently we have a new king of prank then. Apparently Nice. I'm not mad about it. I like when someone can really pull a good prank.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was a good one. It pull a good prank. Yeah, that was a good one. It was a good one anyhow. So share with us your pranks, whether you did it or someone did it to you. And yes, cory, you're right. Pretty much my whole life since, probably, I started walking and running. I just love pranks yeah, well, who?
Speaker 2:well, I won't say who doesn't, because I'm sure there's someone out there that does not like being pranked. But if you can sell it and the person you're selling it to really buys it and they get a kick out of it, then there's no hurt, no harm, no foul. Now, if you happen to run up against one of those people that really hate pranks, I strongly suggest that you just don't do it. Don't do it, it's not worth it, no.
Speaker 1:So, anyways, today's episode Really excited about this one because it's the beginning of April and, corey, we were talking about it and you named this episode. I'm going to try to deliver it, but you might have to come behind me and explain this a little bit, but I think I got it, no worries. So it's this episode. Today, everyone is called To School for Cool. Indeed, okay, and I'm married to a writer, and so there's this beautiful play on words. What do you all think it means? Hmm, to School for Cool. You want to tell us, corey, what we're in for today?
Speaker 2:No, I think you should take a stab at it.
Speaker 1:Okay. So I think because when I think of too cool for school, meaning you know, I don't need an education, I don't need that, I'm too cool for it when I flip it I think it's past school, very intelligent, Too school for cool, that it surpasses cool. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Well, I would say thank you.
Speaker 1:I told you you'd have to come behind me. No worries, I don't mind at all.
Speaker 2:I would say that there are some necessary pieces and parts of school that you just can't skip. You can't get around them, you have to learn them. They're fundamental, they're necessary yes, education is yeah, absolutely and so no need to try to be cool, because you need this school in order to proceed.
Speaker 1:Ah, so we're saying we need this school to be cool?
Speaker 2:yeah, indeed, got it absolutely, and, and I mean, whether you believe in higher education or not, you know that some of the fundamentals of going to the next level, going to the next grade, are necessary. These are things that you just can't live without. You have to know how to add and without you have to know how to add and subtract, yeah.
Speaker 2:You have to know how to read and write, you have to know how to communicate with people, otherwise you just have this really big gap in your life. It needs to be filled somehow, some way, in order to get along in this society.
Speaker 1:Right, and we've had episodes where we talk about knowledge is power and how you use that knowledge is what makes you powerful. So definitely that. So what we want to do today is just have dialogue on some of the things that came our way during March. That was actually new, and we love when we learn new things or something gets presented that's got a little twist in it and we're like, oh, I never thought about it that way, right, so we're gonna share that and hopefully you all think of some things too that you've learned. Um, and I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that it was officially spring, so things have sprung forward, but at least for us, that's what's happened.
Speaker 1:I'm going to start with one very simple one, and I, by the way, I am easily amused. Okay, so these may not amuse you or you might've heard of them, but I love when I hear things for the first time. And the first question I asked Corey. Anytime he shares something new to me. I'm like did you just make that up, right? Or did you get that from somewhere? Anyways, you were in a conversation and this is what cory said not my dog, not my fight and I was like what? Not my dog, not my fight, and it was, like you know, pick and choose your battles yeah like it has nothing to do with you.
Speaker 1:Don't even get in it, and I love that saying. I've never heard anyone say it Never, never, never.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a saying that came across me some years ago, and what happened was I realized after that. You know, I brought this topic up to an individual and I knew they didn't have anything to do with the current situation that I was talking about, but I did want some input and I did want some information and hopefully a little bit of direction. But what he ultimately said was this doesn't concern me, it's not going to affect me and I probably shouldn't have anything to do with it. Not my dog, not my fight. And as you were blown away, I sat with that very perplexed look on my face Like okay, so I guess we're moving on from here. And again, it's one of those things that it's not rude, it's not disrespectful, not at all. It's just letting you know that that's not something that concerns me and I probably shouldn't have anything to do with it, which taught me another valuable lesson. There are some things I just shouldn't be involved in it's a good one.
Speaker 2:Please, everyone who likes that, use it yes, this is for anyone who would like to use it what about you?
Speaker 1:what's something new you learned or came across your way?
Speaker 2:um several things, but um this one uh video that I sent to you, jen, really just was so profound in the way that it was delivered number one and then number two. The true meaning behind it Can we save that towards the end?
Speaker 1:Sure, because I think it's so powerful.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, unless you have something above that. I really don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because that one was mind jarring and blowing right. That I agree with you, but I want to give we're going to kind of do it in steps, okay, because I think that's the grand finale. Sounds like a plan to me, um. So we've talked about time management before and I just came a couple of cheats. Don't know if it's gonna work for anyone, um, but here's one that it's called eat that frog. Eat that frog. Have you heard?
Speaker 1:that yes no, you know, like rub it, rub it, eat that frog yeah so you do the most important and difficult task first thing in the morning, just get it done, and this works really well with people like me, who I've I've confessed on this episode many times that I've been known before to struggle with procrastination and I thought it was oh, I just do well under pressure. Remember that one, yes uh, uh.
Speaker 2:Quick question, sidebar, sidebar, in front of everyone. Yes, aren't there other things to eat besides a frog that you can use instead?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:We'll have to look into why they call to eat that frog okay, well, because I'm probably never gonna get it done if I gotta eat a frog well, what would you make it? You're the writer uh, how about eat that burger I? I don't eat meat.
Speaker 1:Well, see, there you go, but you wouldn't eat it though.
Speaker 2:This is true, right.
Speaker 1:So I think the point is that it's difficult, it's something that you don't normally do, right? And it's telling you to eat it.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay, get it yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, you proved the point you wouldn't eat a frog. So I'm telling you to eat the frog. It's difficult, but just eat it, ribbit. So that was pretty cool. One more tip is the 1-3-5 method, so I've been using this. This one's good. One big task three medium, five small. And I thought, oh, I can definitely do that in a week, dude, this is for each day. Oh yeah, one big task three medium, five small. I got the five small down, sometimes even the three medium, but that one big. It just feels like I would not. I wouldn't be able to talk, email teams, eat, do anything.
Speaker 2:So ultimately that's like nine things in a day.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Do you realize that most people don't have nine things to do in a day? Really, yeah, wow, I mean, I'm just being very honest about and I'm not saying that's me. I can definitely do 20 things in one day, but I know people that literally don't have nine things to do in a day, so how would they be able to wrap their heads around that?
Speaker 1:Create something. So let let's just think about this real quick. Okay, in in a normal day for anybody.
Speaker 2:And, by the way, this is in real time. Jen had no idea that I was going to ask this question, so she's really shooting from the hip right now.
Speaker 1:Well, when you think about it, it just depends on the person where they're at Right.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Like someone could be eating out. The one big task could be I'm actually going to make a homemade meal, right, right, or I'm gonna make sure to the grow the grocery store on sunday so I don't eat out for the week. That's pretty big. It's a big change, you know, um. So I think those practical yet impactful things that are going to change your life, I would hope could equal nine. Some people want to read more, some people don't want to watch as much Netflix. Some people want to do the digital detox, right, so those, all those things add up. I want to do more steps. That was, that was, my big task today. Right, my large task was to get my butt up at what time, like three 30 in the morning, to hit the gym with you, um, and that was huge. So it's not necessarily at work, it's just in life.
Speaker 2:And if I'm being honest and I'm going to go back, yeah, I knew you were tired and I knew you were sound asleep when the alarm went off. Oh, it was good sleep, and so I made up in my mind, I'm not going to wake her because I'm not going to make my journey her journey. I'm going to allow her to choose what journey she's gonna be on with this. But then you got up.
Speaker 2:Almost immediately after I got up, and I was so overjoyed I was like, yes, we're, we're going, we're in together yeah not to the gym, but on the journey yeah the gym is just a part of the journey, you know right, but we we like to travel um on the same path when we're on journey, so that that made my day. But I'm I kind of set that up a certain way because I want it to be okay. It's oh and it is. It's okay not to have nine things to do. It's okay if you only got one thing to do, or four things to do yeah.
Speaker 1:Or maybe it's like one, three, two, or you know one, two, three in that combination.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you can number it any way you want to, or maybe not number it at all, but just make sure you're getting. You know, challenge yourself to get one big task done and challenge yourself to do a couple of small tasks along with that.
Speaker 1:And it's what you define as big. Exactly May not be to someone else. Me going to the gym early in the morning may be like something simple for anyone else.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But yeah, and I just want to say about the gym that one of the things I learned that was so powerful for me this well in March is that you started your journey back up again, I think eight days before I did, and we'd always talked about, okay, we got to get back on. You know, here's what we want, here's what we need and why are we doing this. And reasons came up right, Like quality of life, get off these medications, weight loss, um, be able to go on hikes and not be concerned if it's easy, medium or hard, Like we just go on any. It's very real go on any.
Speaker 1:That's a real thing, though it's very real, so I really appreciated that I was given this space to come into my own and um, that's why you didn't have to wake me up. It's great when people on their own say, yeah, I'm in Right.
Speaker 2:So I guess that's one of the things that I definitely learned, jen, in this last couple of months. Because, yes, I did start and everything within me wants to say give her everything you got and let her have an option of your lifestyle or her lifestyle, or this or that. And so you know, when you talk about options, those were my options, those were your options, and so I was going to give you my options with the hopes that you'd choose the one I preferred you to choose, whereas I've learned from the past. I know I've put things on you, presented things to you that I knew I wanted to do this, and we all do this as mates and spouses.
Speaker 2:We have an agenda, we want something done a certain way, so we present it the way it's most attractive to choose what we want you to choose. And then, when it doesn't go that way, we're, we're a little bit let down and and disappointed. But, um, in this particular journey, I said to myself you know, you just gotta allow her to make that decision on her own, without any options, without any presentations, and that's what's best for us in this particular situation, in this circumstance. Now there's other things that, of course, you really need to have your mate or spouse present and you want them to choose a certain thing. So I'm just putting it out there, because everyone's not in this frame of mind, and so we may be doing something that's not best beneficial for ourselves right and and everyone.
Speaker 1:This is important for us to share because, first of all, I just did this intense behavioral assessment on myself and it really just weighed so much on me because you know that kind of way where you think, oh, I'm no longer like that, but it still shows up. It's like innate, almost. Yeah, so I will put others before me and even after all these years, it's still a thing for me. So I will go on a journey with you, corey, for your sake. And then what ends up happening? I become bitter because I've, I'm doing something that I'm not totally into. Um, I feel like it's not the level of appreciation I should have, because inside I'm like I'm doing this for him and you know so.
Speaker 1:This was groundbreaking for me, and I think this leads beautifully into the thing that we learned about, what you wanted to share, the new thing that we heard. Sure, why don't you start us off? Okay, so we. Whenever you think of the word growth or you hear that, usually what you'll see is a seed turn leaf into a tree, right, you see the process of growth, or even a caterpillar into a butterfly right and so that's how we see growth.
Speaker 1:we see it now. This guy and I wish I knew his name. Do you know his name? No, I don't. We need to give him credit because this is all his yeah, yeah. And he said when you drop a seed for growth, the immediate growth happens in the ground in the soil Underground. Yes, Underground, where it is dark, damp, cold and the roots are literally fighting and showing resilience to push down past the soil into the soil and get grounded and rooted and then, at the same time, as what the, the roots are pushing down.
Speaker 2:You have this effort of growing upward at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yes, but you, you don't necessarily see the growth yet, right, because it's not evident on the surface. Right right, all the growth is happening undercover, if you will, underground, and then the growth happens up on top right, and so that's when you see the elevation on top. Meanwhile it's the same process down below. Just because it's growing on top doesn't mean it's not growing anymore below. There are still those moments where it has to push through.
Speaker 2:It has to continue to be nurtured in order for growth to be apparent, and it's important to note that there are stages of this growth where the tree looks identical underground as it does above ground.
Speaker 2:And so when you have this multi-directional growth happening, we don't see the efforts that are happening underneath the ground and the soil and the damp and the dark, whereas the the part of the tree that's exposed is thriving in light, it's thriving in in sunshine, it's thriving in the oxygen that's provided up top, but you don't see the pattern and the path and the effort that is taking to grow underneath ground. Yeah, did you want to jump the pattern and the path and the effort that it's taking to grow underneath ground?
Speaker 2:yeah did you want to jump in?
Speaker 1:yeah, and so I'm not a gardener and I appreciate a good gardener and we have a good friend and we have a bunch of ants that this is their gift, right, when I've tried to grow plants and, um, I either forget to water, they're not in enough light, too much light, too much water, whatever that is, and I start to see my plants dying up on top. I've done the thing that they say not to do and I clip the part that's dying because something in my mind needs to see it growing and look healthy. The thing is, it's how you're taking care of it, but you can let that leaf sit there dead and when taken care of properly, it's going to come back to life. Yeah, right. So I just thought, wow, now for all of you who know this about planting and roots and stuff like that and you're like, oh, that's not a big deal.
Speaker 2:But I just thought it was an amazing way to compare growth in nature to growth in us as humans, what's happening in the dark, what's happening underground or behind closed doors, out of which is behind the doors in the classroom, be it a physical classroom or a virtual classroom or a personal classroom. You've put in the work, you've done this amazing job that has allowed you to blossom in a way that it's given you the strength and the roots to ground you and develop. That that is seen, opposed to not seen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know as you were talking, corey. So well said, by the way. I love how you put that. I thought of something else in that context, but it's something very different.
Speaker 2:It's what's done in the dark will be brought to the light and we usually use that in a bad connotation, and this is definitely a good connotation absolutely.
Speaker 1:But bottom line is whatever is happening in your personal life and you're feeling like it's dark, know that it has potential to grow in in the right, with the right nurturing, the right care. Um, so we just love that. It adds a whole element to resilience. Anyhow again, and I went outside today and the sun was shining beautifully and I just saw the trees and I was like well done roots.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you start to imagine, and that's why I love what you put. This was something new for me too. I had heard it and I actually saw it on Pretty Woman, one of my favorite movies. But you, corey, you were reading into this thing where you walk barefoot on the grass, into this thing where you walk barefooted on the grass and that there's healthy healing elements to that when we ground with the earth. Am I saying that?
Speaker 2:right, absolutely so. You want to go outside barefoot from time to time, to ground yourself in the earth, to be, to bask in the sunlight. They call them tree huggers, but that's a real thing, because a lot of times we spend time in shoes so much, we spend time indoors so much that we have no connection with nature, we have no connection with the outside world, outside of what we see on TV, and so we lose qualities and elements. And vitamin D is a real thing, being in the sun and taking in that nutrients is a real thing that can benefit your life.
Speaker 2:So do the research before you tell me that I'm wrong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we're just grateful for all the new things that come our way, looking forward to all the new things in april and what a way to start with an amazing prank not information amazing yes, the amazing prank. Don't forget to share your stuff with us ah, that's a tv idea.
Speaker 2:The amazing prank no one.
Speaker 1:Take one. Take it please. It's mine. I'm playing, If you can make it happen.
Speaker 2:Make it happen.
Speaker 1:Well, next episode, Corey. We've got some really cool announcements. We just want to share some of the growth that has definitely been taking place in the dark, and we're ready to bring some of that stuff to light and just let it. Let it be let it be well, it's been great being here with you today. Happy april, have a great rest of the week and we'll be back next week. You know us to take the elevator. We say look up and let's elevate, look up and let's elevate.
