Showing Up Is The Best Way To Dramatically Improve Your Success
I get compliments all the time and mostly, I don’t feel like I deserve them. I get comments like,
“Robert, you are so organized,”
or
“Wow, you are so strategic,”
or
“Geez, you have a gift for making things seem simple.”
I don’t feel like I deserve them largely because of the doubt monster which seems to find its way in. But, I also have a window into my world that no one else has. I see where I struggle. I see the challenges first hand. I know the internal thought process which takes place when I look at my calendar and my planning tools with confusion. In those moments, I don’t feel very strategic or organized at all.
But, I will give myself some credit. I do keep coming back to the plate. I’m tenacious and I keep showing up.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky
I’m not sure when I learned this, but I recognized that in order to get to success, you have to keep doing something. And not just doing something, but doing something that matters. This means, I’ve got to focus in on one thing or a small group of things that are going to make a difference in my world. In my case, that means focusing in on speaking and writing.
I also learned to give myself permission. Too often, I acted then allowed the words or the silence, oh the deafening silence, of others to influence my next decision to act. Give yourself permission to dream, think, do, fail and then start over again. This is all a part of the process. Focus on the moment you are in and how that is working. Everything outside of that is a memory and a feeling.
The truth is you are okay. Right now, in this moment as you are reading this sentence, everything is okay. You may choose to go back to a problem after this but right now at this particular moment, if you froze time right now, you would be okay.
Despite the feelings of inadequacy or being unprepared, the best way for you to move forward from here is just to start moving. I’m as guilty as anyone else of over analyzing and waiting for perfection. Of course, in my mind, I didn’t call it perfection. Instead, I called it “not ready yet” or “don’t have the right stuff” or “don’t have the certificate or degree” or “don’t know what I’m doing.” All of those rationalizations seem to come with a side dish of ‘stay where you are.’ Most of the time, we make those statements when we are standing still or moving in a circle.
Right now, you must begin moving toward the object. You must move toward to goal. In order to make the shot, you need to begin creating some momentum towards the basket. That means you must show up on the court. It might seem far away but you must move towards the court.
I’m a big tech advocate. If there is a problem to solve and I can find an app to solve it, I’m on it. But, recently, I made an adjustment which surprised even me. I went old school. In looking to reset my goals and strategy for the year, I moved away from my computer and my phone. I purchased a full year wall calendar at a site called Best Self. Once the calendar came, I immediately attached it to my wall and began excitedly transferring dates from my digital calendar to this wall calendar. It was exciting. I was freeing. It was me moving towards the court. My old system wasn’t broken per se. But, I was running through mud. I needed a fresh injection. So, instead of wandering around, I looked to see how I could show up.
“Comfort makes more prisoners than all the jails combined.” — Grant Cardone
Showing up is more than standing up. Showing up is taking a step. Showing up is putting yourself in position. When you do this, the chances of failure increase. But, so do the chances of success. For many people, standing in the comfortable or the familiar feels like a decreased chance of failure. And it is. It’s less possible for you to fail if you aren’t doing anything. But it’s also VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE for you to succeed in that zone.
So leave it! Stand up, step up and show up!
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About The Author
My name is Robert Kennedy III. I’m a leadership and communication speaker, trainer and author. I recently released 7 Ways To Know You Were Meant To Lead on Amazon. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook.
