Finding Success I

Showing up is more than half of success. This sounds so simple but in reality it is harder than you think, apparently. Any of you who have your own business' and have to hire people know what I talking about. I hear the complaint often from small business' about how hard it is to get people just to show up for their appointed schedule. We hear excuses like they overslept, they had a flat tire, they had to take their pregnant sister to the doctor. Remarkably, someone who shows up consistently, regardless of other skills often receives a promotion.

Showing up isn't just about keeping a job. How many people have you heard say that they wish that they had more friends? Yet often they are not willing to "show up" where friends can be made. In my travels I hear people comment that they did not like Florida when they moved here for awhile because they didn't have any friends. Yet friends can easily be made at church, classes, community functions, etc. Making friends is not just difficult at home, it may be impossible. Making friends while shopping is possible but probabilities are low. It may even be difficult to make friends with neighbors depending on your community. But "showing up" to activities with people of common interest has a very high success rate for making friends.

I seem to be in tremendous company in this last area where "showing up" can bring success. The gym. If I show up there I am highly likely to achieve the success I desire. Yet I find plenty of reasons to keep that from happening. Am I alone in that? I know that when I show up at a restaurant that I am going to achieve the results that I came there for. The same is true of the gym. I even find that if I get there once or twice I am likely to continue for awhile until that chain of showing up is broken.

If we desire a closer relationship with God showing up is still the key. Of course I'm not referring to showing up in heaven. But God is present with us everywhere, everyday. He has shown up in our lives for fellowship with us. We can "show up" with Him by prayer, reading the Bible, worship and spending time with other's who share your desire. As with the gym I find that a day or two put together will often keep me going in this pattern for awhile until something breaks the chain. I've started and stopped, started and stopped. Yet showing up remains the key.

Showing up is more than half of success. Notice that it will not take you all the way to success whether it's in your job, in making friends, taking off those pounds, or growing in your relationship with God. However, without showing up the rest is guaranteed never to happen.