Success Begins By Showing Up

Woody Allen said, “Eighty percent of success in life is just showing up.”

Let’s take that quote and go several steps further.

Just show up. You’re a winner 80 percent of the time by just being there. Some opportunities are achieved because you are the only person there to take advantage of them.

Show up on time. What could be more annoying than a person who can’t deliver the first thing he/she promised, his or her own body? Mars, Inc., known around the world for its M&M’s, 3 Musketeers, Snickers and Mars candy bars, is an $18 billion privately held company. The multinational corporation really places a premium on showing up on time. Everyone punches a clock, including the president of the company, and every associate who punches in before 8:30 a.m. receives 10 percent added compensation called “The Punctuality Bonus.” Talk about positive reinforcement-that’s certainly nothing to “Snicker” at!

Show up on time with a plan. Okay, you’re there. Now what? You certainly have to know your own strengths and weaknesses and maximize your strengths while minimizing your weaknesses. Give your employer a clear picture of what you have to offer and how you are going to carry out your responsibilities. Be truthful and accurate in your assessments, then do it right!

Show up on time with a plan and a commitment to carry it out. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you ever expect anyone else to believe in you? Lack of commitment shows through like rust on a used car. You have to look, act, and feel like you mean it. That’s why motivation is the single common denominator you’ll find in all successful people and the hardest attitude of all to maintain.

Show up on time with a plan, a commitment to carry it out and then execute it. Nothing is more deadly to a relationship than broken promises. Whatever you say you’re going to do, you’d better do it. And if you can’t do it, then you need to be forthright about why you can’t and come up with an alternate solution to address the issue. Deliver what you promise. However, if you can deliver more than what you promise, you’ll beat the competition 100% of the time.

Show up on time with a plan, a commitment to carry it out, execute it, and give 110 percent. Go beyond giving more than you promised. Ask for feedback from the persons you are working for or with. Ask for feedback on everything from your performance to your attitude. Implement any positive suggestions which you feel have real merit. Fix absolutely everything that needs fixing.

Knute Rockne, the legendary football coach, said: “I don’t like to lose, and that isn’t so much because it is just a football game, but because defeat means the failure to reach your objective. I don’t want a football player who doesn’t take defeat to heart, who laughs it off without a thought, ‘Oh, well there’s another Saturday. The trouble in American life today, in business as well as in sports, is that too many people are afraid of competition. The result is that in some circles people have come to sneer at success if it costs hard work, training, commitment and sacrifice.