Showing up is half the battle in life. The ones who have the life they want showed up every single day and did the work. It’s not about doing intense work or doing smart, complicated work. It’s about just showing up to work and seeing the day through to the end by giving it effort.
I’ve been there where everyone has been there before. Some days, I just want to crawl inside a rock and not talk to anybody from the outside world. There was a month in March 2020 where I lost more than $90,000 and felt absolutely petrified to exist. $90,000 was something like 35 – 40% of my net worth at the time.
It was terrifying to show up to work every day and realize that I’ve lost more money than I’ll make in 10 months from my day job. However, I didn’t let that deter me from showing up to work. I understood that showing up is half the battle and still kept on providing quality value to my employer.
There’s tons of stories of people’s careers being ruined because of a bad divorce or a personal life problem. No way was I going to let something like that stop me from building wealth. I showed up every day and gave it a good amount of effort. My net worth hit all time highs by the end of the year.
That was a fantastic feeling and that’s how it should be for everyone. You don’t need to cure cancer to become successful. All you need to do is continue to show up every day and provide as much value to others. Keep going and never give up.
There’s no need to go 100 miles per hour but there is a need to keep getting behind the wheel.
What Does Showing Up is Half the Battle Mean?
Showing up is half the battle means that half of a goal can be achieved just by showing up. There’s no need to invent the next flying machine that takes you to space and do all this complicated stuff. As Elon Musk said, you don’t need to create something that changes the world to be successful.
You can create apps or get into real estate in order to make more money and become successful. You don’t have to create the next Twitter, but get into an industry where you can make money. That’s the beauty about life. it’s not complicated nor only accessible for the well-connected. You just have to show up and keep putting in the work.
Find an idea that is proven by others that success is possible and work towards it. Every single day without fail. That doesn’t mean you have to work like the Nike commercials whose target audience is on the insecure. You don’t need to give 120% every single day, that’s too much and you’re going to burn out.
You need to give 75 – 90% of your efforts over a long period of time. This strategy and formula will always win against the person who gives 120% of their efforts for a year and quits. The cruel test of time will be an ally for you instead of an enemy.
With this blog, I could only write 1 times a week and quit when my day job becomes especially painful. However, I committed to writing 2x a week for a year and see where it goes. I refuse to give up and I’ll continue to write and provide as much value I can to my readers.
Showing up is half the battle, after all.
Why is Showing Up Half the Battle?
When you actually show up to something, you’ll eventually get bored and actually want to do something. Then when you first have that desire to accomplish and do something, that’s when the magic starts. Intrinsic motivation is evergreen and lasts an eternity. Extrinsic motivation is short-term and is temporary.
One way to know if showing up is half the battle is to SMASH that social share button and post to your favorite social media for the Google algorithm! The almighty Google algorithm and I would really appreciate you sharing this article to your friends to learn about as well.
But in seriousness, when you just show up, your need for entertainment will outweigh your want of comfort. If you show up to anything that you want to get better at, you will get better. Ideally, your body naturally likes to be in a state of homeostasis. Biologically, you like being in a neutral state and not do any work.
However, when you show up to any event, an outing, networking event, or anything else, you will eventually naturally want to socialize and talk to people. Instead of standing there and do nothing, you will seek entertainment and something to do to pass the time. You socialize, meet different people, and build relationships that way.
That’s why showing up is half the battle. Giving up doesn’t become a choice when you actually make the decision to show up. When you’re sitting at your couch watching TV, it’s easy to give up. It’s easy to say “I don’t feel like it” and turn to the next channel.
If you just show up to war, you will want to fight the war. The default position now becomes you will fight until there’s a conclusion.
7 Times Where Showing Up is Half the Battle Applies
There are numerous times when the saying showing up is half the battle applies. It’s not just a life saying that people like to throw around. It has real world consequences that applies to your life.
Below are seven real life times where the saying applies to.
1) Side Hustles
The best side hustle is one where you work 15 – 20 hours a week on it and pays dividends over the long term afterwards. Side hustles like working for Uber is good, but that’s a very active way to create side income. Regardless, if you continue to keep putting in the time and actually show up, you will win the war.
When you get in your car and actually turn on the Uber app to start driving, you won the war. The war against laziness. You’re not going to want to change your mind and go back to bed because the default position is now to work on the side hustle and generate extra income.
Showing up is half the battle when it comes to your side hustles. Envision your life 2 – 3 years out. The 10-20 hours a week you put in this year will pay dividends then. If your side hustles pay for your living expenses, wouldn’t that be a great life? You will be in complete control of your own destiny.
2) Work
Just showing up for work makes you want to work for the day. You’re not doing work because the company pays you to do the work, you’re doing work because you are paid to show up. Keep coming in to the office and you will be just fine in doing the work and getting ahead.
The ones who fail are the ones who refuses to show up. Showing up doesn’t mean just physically walking into your office or cubicle. it means showing up mentally as well. Once your mind gets adjusted to the mentality of working, you will want to give everything it’s got.
Half the battle is showing up. Even if you have no idea how the day will play out, if you show up, you’ve already won. Remember that effort requires no skill. There are no innate skills you need to put in the hours and work. That’s a beautiful thing.
3) Building Relationships
If you want to have new friends, just show up to their invites. One time, a brand new friend told me how he liked that I showed up at the time that I said I was going to show up. It wasn’t because I gave him gifts or bought food, it was because I just showed up.
I had no idea what to expect while hanging out with him but a friendship was born that way. We didn’t need to hang out for exorbitant hours at a time to establish rapport and get a connection going. Do this over and over to multiple people and it’ll be completely easy to build additional relationships.
The other half of the battle is making sure your personalities mesh well together. However, that’s the other half that you can worry about later. You can’t get to the second half of the game if you don’t master the first half. The first half and the first step is just showing up and getting there.
4) Reaching Financial Independence
Financial independence is a painfully long process. It takes years and years and many people quit because they don’t want to give up eating out. However, after years and years of showing up and saving as much money as you can, you will see results.
Effort attracts results. Even if there’s little effort, it’s mountains better than giving no effort. The ones who emotionlessly invested their savings in a large broad index fund over decades will come out just fine. They’ll come out with more money than any of their friends.
The first half of the battle starts with you. Do you have the right motivation to save money and the right mindset to keep up with your goals? You can easily achieve financial independence at 90% of the income levels out there in the world. All you have to do is show up and keep saving day in day out.
5) Working Out
When you show up at a gym, you will dislike showing up at the gym and your heart’s not going to be in it at the beginning. However, if there’s no way for you to drive back home, then you’re going to put in the work to actually work out. Instead of enjoying homeostasis, you will want something to do.
Once you start to do one rep, then you do another, and another until an hour passes. Then after going through it all, you’re going to feel so much better that you actually showed up and lifted weights. The cycle begins all over again the next time that you work out.
Since you already know that showing up is half the battle, you are more likely to drive to the gym again the next day. It will be amazing what kind of results will show after months and years of going through it. Even if you don’t get ripped, you’ve taken good care of your body that the 99% don’t bother doing.
6) Any Side Goals
Showing up is half the battle for any side goals that you may have. This doesn’t have to be a side income but a side goal that many others don’t do. Things such as reading, learning how to become a chef, or getting better at chess. Keep showing up and putting in the hours. One day you will become a master instead of a student.
That’s how easy it is to become a master at something. There’s no need to create a rigid schedule and put in endless hours. All you need to do is put in a good amount of time each week. Show up to each session with a mindset that shows you are ready to work.
Then actually put in those hours each day. The great thing about our efforts is that it compounds. What you learn in one day, you don’t have to learn the next day. So on and so on. That’s the power of showing up every single day. Much like our investments, the skills that we learn compounds well into the future.
It applies to every aspects of our lives.
7) Networking
I get it about networking events. It makes some people’s palms sweat at the thought of attending a networking event. The thought of talking to strangers while simultaneously having to say the right words to not insult them isn’t on everyone’s list of favorite things to do.
However, as long as you just keep showing up to these events, thing work out in the end. You get better at talking to strangers and the topics you talk to strangers about. Conversation flows more naturally and feels like you are talking to a friend instead of a stranger.
If you want to be better at networking and get better job opportunities, just understand that showing up is half the battle. I used to dislike networking because I disliked the thought of having someone as a part of my contact because I wanted something from them.
However, now I understand that networking is just talking to people and gaining friends. After years of attending networking events, I finally learned the true purpose of networking. I learned that just by showing up to many events and getting a feel for it.
Showing Up is Half the Battle, No Excuses
It’s not a great spot to be in when you give zero effort towards your goals. If you give 0 input, you have zero output. In life, effort is rewarded with results. The easiest way to get results is by showing up. No more sitting in the couch waiting for things to happen, it’s time to make those things happen yourself.
When I worked at a call center soliciting donations from university alumni, the turnover there was very high. Many people didn’t want to show up. However, I was one of the few who actually showed up to work every shift. It was grueling having to work in that environment.
People are shouting and alumni generally aren’t keen to donating money without getting anything in return. They would, from time to time, cuss and swear at me. However, what I learned was communication skills and negotiating asking for money. As I got better, I got promoted to Supervisor status and actually managed people.
That was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever done but it was the one that offered the most learning. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t understand that showing up is half the battle. The company promoted me because I was good at my job, when really all I did was follow their overall and general step by step process (not scripts, just general guidance).
If you want to be really great at something, showing up is half the battle. The effort that you put in might not show up until months later but they help in creating the life that you want. The great thing is that you are just a couple of months away from making it happen. Will you go for it or lead a sedentary lifestyle? The choice is yours.
Seven Ways that Showing Up is Half the Battle Applies List:
- Side hustles
- Work
- Building relationships
- Reaching financial independence
- Working out
- Side goals
- Networking
