The answer is simple: consistency. Ever since I started reading self-help books decades ago, starting with Think and Grow Rich, Successful people have pointed out that persistence is a key to achievement. From my experience, I'd say it's a prerequisite to success. It doesn't give any guarantees, other than the guarantee of failure if you don't do it. Give up, and you fail; it's as simple as that. Most people have an appreciation for what success means for them.
The cars, the homes, the travel are the cliches, but most people forget all the other factors required to get you to the top. You'd be forgiven for not having consistency at the top of your list when you think of achievement because it's not the sexiest concept, let's be honest. It doesn't garner headlines like its more flashy counterparts, but it may not have the fanfare, but it's a power player. And yet, not many are following this common knowledge. It's still a secret for most.
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"Eighty per cent of success is showing up."
― Woody Allen
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In the world we live in, it's enough to be consistently good to become excellent at what you do. Why? Because being consistent is shamefully misunderstood. It's tempting nowadays to chase the shiny object or jump around in the circus of social media's negativity and hype. People just don't show up consistently over time for anything. They may show up once or twice, or for a week, maybe even for a couple of months. Then, their dedication expires, and they are
gone. Anyone who keeps going by definition is better.
My writing career is proof of this.
When I started writing decades ago, the UK writing scene was an exciting place to be, filled with an ambitious group of writers from the black community who were given a voice through a publishing company called X-Press. It was challenging, exciting and frustrating times, but I knew what I wanted to do.
I wanted to write and have my work exposed to the world.
I consistently showed up in good times and bad, when my writing popped or when my writing fizzled, rain or shine. I kept writing a word, a sentence, a paragraph or a page. While writers who were more confident, more talented or more feted slowly gave up and fell away.
I'm still here, and I'm still showing up.
What I'm saying, gentle reader, is others may be more talented, more intelligent, tougher, stronger, may even have better connections. But it means nothing if they don't consistently show up.
Day in, day out. Week in, week out. Month in, month out. Year in, year out. If you want to be in the top 5%, this is how it's done.
See you there.
