Your Elevator Pitch: #Writing Meaning Into Your Life

Recent graduates and other job seekers are often told to create an elevator pitch for job interviews and networking opportunities. These job-focused elevator pitches are usually crafted to a specific job or profession. I was originally taught this concept when I was a struggling young novelist trying to pitch my book to publishers and agents, but the idea is the same – sum up your message in just a few simple, focused sentences that could be delivered in the time it takes for an elevator to travel between floors or for you to introduce yourself over a handshake.

I think it is important for us all to spend some time thinking about our elevator pitches from time to time. We meet new people all the time – waiting at the car dealership for an oil change, over coffee before church, and on the bleachers at the local park. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an answer to the common question, what do you do, that invites a conversation rather than stops it (Believe me, nothing stops a conversation like telling people you are an English teacher, they always assume you are the grammar police)? However, there is an even more important reason to have an elevator pitch – crafting that message will help us dig in and discover/uncover the answer to a much more important question – what is our life purpose?

Answering that question is important to our happiness. The answer can, and should, shape our lives in important ways and help us make important decisions about our education, our career, and our life. It can lead us in new directions and help us say no to things that do not serve our purpose. Even more important, understanding this purpose can help us tolerate and even accept some aspects of our life that might be challenging if they help us achieve that greater purpose. As Friedrich Nietzsche said: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

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Of course, crafting that answer is a lot trickier than writing an elevator pitch for a job interview, because even when we are reasonably happy with our life and our job it isn’t always easy to zero in on our life purpose. That is also what makes this a terrific writing prompt as it is a question we should explore from time to time.

Some questions to begin your initial writing:

  • Who do you want to help and/or inspire? Who do you want your life to impact and influence?
  • What do you make? What do you want to make?
  • What makes you come alive? What do you love to do? When are you happiest?
  • What problem do you (or can you) solve?
  • How will you measure your life?
  • What will you stand for?

As you ponder these questions, I ask you to watch this slam poem by Taylor Mali written in response to the question: What do you make? Now spend some time just writing about what you do or could do or should do to make a difference in the world…

Now look back over your writing. When I consider these questions I often end up in tears because these are things that I really care about, ideas and challenges that I am passionately invested in. That is the point of this writing exercise to tap into to your heart and soul to uncover what really matters to you. This is not the moment to be practical, instead think about what touches you on an emotional level. Have you written about that?

When I ask my students to write elevator pitches for their class projects I ask them to think about their answers to three important questions:

  1. Who do you want to help/serve?
  2. What is their problem?
  3. How can you solve it (ie. what can you change/do)?

For me, like Taylor Mali, I am a teacher and I believe in the importance power and magic of this job, but more than that I am a writer who is happiest when I get to spend time writing and sharing with other writers. I believe in the power and magic of writing to help us grow and heal. I believe writing can be fun and playful (something we all need more of in our lives). The best writing activities offer both fun and meaning. That is my passion project – helping others become writers whether they are my students, young writers just finding their way, or adult writers whose faith in their writing ability is broken. I want to provide inspiration, guidance, and support for writers who want to play, learn, or discover/reconnect with their muse. I want to provide meaningful writing opportunities that offer fun and growth to writers of all ages.

I make writers for a living and for the sheer joy of it. What do you make? Pablo Picasso once said: “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” What is your gift?

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Artwork by kelseyannvere via Pixabay