Just Showing Up is Enough to Succeed

You hear it all the time but do you know why?

If you want to be the next Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, I think the bar is a bit higher than just showing up.

But for the rest of us who just want a generously above average income, showing up works.

Once you understand why it works, you’ll understand where and when to show up.

We often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to become the best we can be. We are taught this through the education system, the job system etc. Everything is shaped up in terms of competition. And so, what we learn from this is that we need to be the best to win.

But there is more than one winner in the market. There are multiple winners and multiple markets.

You may not be at the top but you also don’t need to be.

You Don’t Need to Be Original, Different or Better

You might not believe me.

But think about it.

Let’s say, you’re a tourist in a big city and you’re thirsty. You need a drink.

You don’t care which shop you go into. As long as you find somewhere that sells a bottle of water, then that is good enough. It doesn’t matter who you get it from. It doesn’t matter if you over paid a little. It just matters that you got what you wanted.

When demand is high for a particular good or service, you just need to supply the demand. You don’t need to be better than everyone else. You just need to be there.

Pick a Growing Market / Platform

Pay attention to the area you are operating in. Is your market growing or shrinking? If the market is growing, you have a great chance to profit just from picking the right platform. If it’s shrinking, it’s not worth your time.

Should you be on Instagram or Myspace? One is growing and the other is long dead.

If the demographic for what you have to offer grows, then your potential customer base grows.

Pick an Industry that Pays Well

You can let other people pave the way and show you what works.

You want to be in the right place at almost the right time.

The best time would have been earlier but the problem is, you wouldn’t know it is the right place.

For example, there has probably never been a better time to start a YouTube channel.

It took a long time for big corporations to realise that YouTube is worth spending a portion of their marketing budget. It wasn’t always so easily accepted in the past. The content creators that have established themselves before it was recognised are now reaping the rewards. But late comers can get a share of the rewards too.

This is particularly true, if you are creating entertaining, educational, advertiser friendly, and non-controversial content. The older creators that don’t, they aren’t your competition. They will be demonetised.

Building a Reputation / Brand Takes Time

Most people have short term goals.

Most people think that 1 year goals are long term goals. They want to get a six pack in 2 weeks. They want 1000 followers in a month. But few will try for any longer than that.

If these people don’t get immediate results, they’re gone. They will give up.

Here is where the people that just show up every day triumph over others.

Not Everyone Plays to Win

There are always people who claim it is impossible. They say that things are too competitive. They say things were easier in the past when no one else knew about it (including themselves ironically).

But you need to understand that the bulk of your competition isn’t taking it seriously.

Whenever something has recreational players, there is an edge for the professionals.

This is how professional poker players and stock market investors make their money.

They profit from the mistakes of the recreational players who don’t fully understand what they are doing. This is true for many other industries.

Some people are working on their side hustles because it is fun. They don’t see it as a business, they see it as a hobby that might pay.

You need to remind yourself that most people are not hard-working, never sleeping bogeymen who are just out to crush your dreams and take away your opportunities.

Your competition is the people that don’t take it seriously.

Don’t Forget It Works

It’s very easy to buy into the argument that things are too competitive.

I get it.

People can be very convincing when they tell you how bad things are. This type of mentality only breeds anxiety, fear and restlessness. It leads to an unhealthy hustle culture where you can never switch off.

Even if the hard-working, never sleeping bogeyman exists, it’s none of your concern. Let Jeff, Mark, Bill and Elon worry about them.

Your ambitions are much smaller than theirs. You want to make a generously above average income. The good news is that you can, and you don’t need to dedicate all your waking hours to your work.

When in doubt, remind yourself why showing up works and you won’t feel as demoralised.

Showing Up is the Minimum

I’ve spent the majority of this article trying to convince you why just showing up is enough.

It is.

But if you can also pick the markets well, choose things where you have a natural advantage, where you can differentiate yourself, and figure out how to scale, you will do so much better.

You would even be able to show up a little less.

So, keep honing your craft and always strive to get incrementally better.

Little by little, you will be amazed at what you can do over time.

Combine this mentality with showing up, and you will be a force to be reckoned with.