Showing up
Can showing up really be the key to growing your business?
As the comedian and writer Woody Allen once said:
“80% of success is showing up.”
If that’s true, then what should you do when you get there? (Short answer, the most important thing to do today that will grow your business).
But when you’re running and growing your business, showing up is hard to do. It’s hard because there’s a 1001 different distractions (here’s 5 distractions that will stunt your business) which you face each and every day. Website problems, staff off sick, customer complaints, they all distract you from getting the job done.
Put simply, you can’t just show up, hit a six and go home.
No. Success in business is about showing up and hitting the ball and scoring a run every day.
But it’s hard
Showing up every day is not just hard. It’s really hard. Some days you’ll feel like you just don’t want to.
And that’s ok;
But, “some days” has a nasty habit of turning into a few days and we all know that a few days turns into weeks or maybe a month or two. (Seth Godin calls this the dip)
But doing it day in day out is really hard, so it’s important to schedule regular holidays and breaks.
If you’re going to show up, then it’s really important that you know why you’re showing up.
You can answer that question, by asking yourself the following two questions:
1. Why are you doing what you’re doing? And;
2. Why do you care?
I recommend you read this post – why every small business owner needs to start with why
Go on, I’ll wait.
Once you know why you are doing what you’re doing and why you care, everything becomes so much easier.
But just because it is easier, it doesn’t mean you can start hitting sixes straight off of the bat. Or indeed that you should start hitting sixes.
No, showing up is all about consistency. Consistent action repeated again and again.
This is called the compounding effect – the power of small acts, repeated over time, add up to big results. Author James Clear says in the book Atomic Habits; “If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”
Which is probably why Albert Einstein describe compound interest as the eighth wonder of the world.
Show up, take action, get results
Isaac Asimov, the science fiction writer, published 400 books in his life time.
How did he manage that? By typing everyday.
What is more, progress leads to increased happiness. The Harvard Business Review calls this the power of small wins.
Call a prospect today. Call one tomorrow and the next day and keep on calling and see the impact it has on your business growth.
Put simply, you can’t just show up. You’ve got to do something when you get there. So what are going to do today?
If you need help figuring it out what to do, book a one hour consulting session.
