Just Show Up

It’s a rare business that blows up right out the gate.

Generally, business growth is unsexy. It’s a boring tedium of consistent, hard work and gradual improvement through analysis and iteration, as well as strategic pivots.

What many try to do is come up with the perfect idea (e.g., the next Facebook). The right idea ought to propel you to riches and stardom overnight, right?

You can pray for a unicorn, but you should never plan your life around it.

You can pray for a unicorn, but you should never plan your life around it. Click To Tweet

There’s nothing terribly sexy about an antiques store. Yet, there is always a market for seemingly worthless old trinkets and dusty home furnishings.

I don’t find the sewage business to be a fun one. Yet, some of the highest paid jobs in the world revolve around excrement.

The best businesses aren’t necessarily those that have a sugary candy coating.

The best businesses aren’t necessarily those that have a sugary candy coating. Click To Tweet

And so, we come to this topic of showing up, which is boring.

“What’s the point in writing when Artificial Intelligence can do it for you?”

As someone whose livelihood has revolved around writing for 10 years, that thought had occurred to me more than once. And as I started to hear rumors of an AI takeover, I seriously began to question whether I even had a future as a writer.

I even shared about it on the Using Your Power podcast.

But five years later, here I still am, doing better than ever as a writer and blogger.

I am present to the reality that what I’m doing now may not be secure forever. Fortunately, I have developed skills in a variety of other fields that will continue to be of value to people. And I believe enough in myself to be able to acquire new skills too.

But the greatest contribution I make is not that I am a genius, but rather that I show up daily. And by virtue of showing up, I get gigs and contracts I am not the most qualified for.

That’s the value of staying top of mind with your family, friends, followers, fans, and target audience. They see you. They come to know, like, and trust you. And before long, they’re doing business with you.

People assume they must be the most qualified or innovative in their field to become high achievers and top earners.

But at times, I have been paid good money for Googling something anyone could have done in about five minutes.

It’s important to realize that many people value their time more than their money. And that is a worthy virtue. You may not want to be their personal assistant, but for $200 and five minutes of your time, you might just find yourself saying “yes.”

People want to know whether you’re genuine. And most importantly, they want to know whether you’re going to keep showing up for them. Can they depend on you?

There are different ways of showing up for your audience. My favorite way is to write.

Showing up isn’t always easy, and I don’t want to make it sound as though it is. Some days, it will feel like a grind.

But if you want to stay top of mind with your network, attract new clients and opportunities, and create an independent income surpassing your wildest expectations, I know of no better strategy than showing up. Especially since you don’t need to do it perfectly to get the results I’m talking about.

I’m not saying you won’t one day come up with an amazing idea. But in the meantime, you could be showing up anyway.

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