“Just be consistent.” “Keep showing up.” “Don’t give up and success will come.”
If you spend any time reading business advice, self-development content, or scrolling through motivational Instagram posts, you’ve heard this a million times.
And I’m calling bullshit.
Not because consistency doesn’t matter, it absolutely does. But this advice has become dangerously oversimplified. It’s a feel-good platitude that keeps people stuck on a hamster wheel, wondering why they’re working so hard but getting nowhere.
Let me explain.
The Truth About Consistency
Look, I get why people say this. Showing up consistently is important, and here’s why:
It helps you figure out if you actually like what you’re doing. You need time to see if something is sustainable long-term or just a shiny new hobby. The excitement always fades, what matters is whether you still want to do it when it stops being new.
It builds momentum and discipline. Whether that “21 days to build a habit” thing is scientifically accurate or not, repetition creates routine. Showing up gets easier the more you do it.
It gets you past the hardest part: starting. Most people never start because they’re paralyzed by overthinking, over-researching, chasing perfection, worrying what people will think. At some point, the only way to know if something is right for you is to give it a shot.
Here’s another reality: most people give up quickly. When I started my podcast in 2020, I read that most podcasts never make it past episode 7. People love the idea, jump on the trend, realize it’s a lot of work, and quit. Same with gym memberships in January: huge spike, then attendance drops off once the New Year’s resolution excitement wears off.
So yes, show up for 30 days. Keep going without getting too attached to results. You’ll already be ahead of the majority.
But here’s where the advice falls apart.
Think about it: if showing up consistently was really the secret to success, way more people would be at the top. Plenty of people work hard, put in long hours, show up every single day, and they’re still broke. Hustle culture sold everyone on the idea that effort equals results. But showing up without strategy, without learning, without improvement? That’s just spinning your wheels faster. 🎡
Consistency Alone Will Only Take You So Far
Think about anything you’ve ever tried to get good at - business, sports, a hobby, whatever.
In the beginning, you make progress just by doing it. Every time you show up, you get a little better. You can feel yourself improving. It’s exciting. You get those little dopamine hits that keep you motivated.
But then something happens.
You plateau.
You’re still showing up. You’re still putting in the work. But you’re not moving forward anymore. The progress stops. The dopamine hits stop. If this phase lasts too long, frustration builds. You start wondering if you’re wasting your time. Eventually, most people give up, just like everyone else did at the beginning.
This is where consistency without improvement becomes a trap.
From 2017 to 2020, I tinkered with entrepreneurship. I tried blogging, e-commerce, freelancing, basically throwing things at the wall hoping something would stick. I was consistent. I showed up. I worked hard.
But I had no idea what I was actually doing.
I lacked fundamental skills. I didn’t understand offers, pricing, messaging, branding, customer psychology - none of it. So I stayed stuck, spinning my wheels, wondering why nothing was working despite all my effort.
Then in 2020, I hired a business coach (technically for my wife Rosie’s photography business, but I soaked up everything). That investment was transformative. I finally understood the foundations of how businesses actually work. From there, I could dive deeper into each topic and expand my knowledge on my own.
The breakthrough didn’t come from showing up more. It came from learning what I didn’t know I needed to learn.
Want to see what this actually looks like? My wife Rosie is living proof.
She’s run a personal travel YouTube channel for 5 years. She’s been incredibly consistent, posting weekly videos, at one point even daily. She’s shown up more than most YouTubers ever will. She’s worked her ass off.
But her channel has never had a breakthrough moment. No viral video. No explosive subscriber growth. Moderate, steady progress, but nothing close to what her effort deserves.
Why? Because consistency isn’t enough.
She’s never been strategic about it. She films and edits videos for herself first because she doesn’t want it to feel like a job and kill her passion. She doesn’t optimize titles, thumbnails, or editing for clicks and retention. She’s consistent, but she’s not improving the strategic elements that drive growth on YouTube.
I see this with my coaching clients too. Yoga teachers who get certified, show up to teach classes at studios, work consistently, but struggle to create a sustainable business. They’re great at yoga. They show up. But they lack the marketing and business strategy skills to get clients and turn their passion into income.
Showing up keeps the door open. But learning and improving is what pushes you through it.
So What Does Improvement Actually Look Like?
There are many ways to improve. Most require investing time, energy, and sometimes money into learning. Here’s what that can look like:
Hiring a trainer, coach, or mentor
Taking courses, bootcamps, or workshops
Reading books
Watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts
Different methods work better for different people based on personal preferences and learning styles.
For me, I consume content and apply it. My process is simple: I consume something, take notes or use AI to pull out the core concepts, then immediately think about how to apply it to what I’m doing. If I can’t apply it right away, I keep notes so I’m ready to execute when the time comes. The key is applying what you learn while it’s still “hot”, before you forget it or move on to the next thing.
I also pull ideas from completely different industries and see if they translate to my work. My curiosity helps with that. AI has been incredibly useful here too, helping me reframe concepts from one domain and apply them to another.
But not everyone works like that. Some people need more guidance to turn generic concepts into specific actions relevant to their situation. And honestly? That’s totally fine. There’s no shame in that.
Hiring a coach or mentor is hands down the fastest way to improve in any domain. Nothing replaces personalized feedback, having someone observe you directly and guide you, someone who’s ahead of you showing you what you can’t see yourself. But it comes with a price tag. 💰
I joined a $5K self-development program in 2019: 100 days of group and individual coaching to work on limiting beliefs and what was keeping me stuck. I hired a business coach in 2020. Both times, I invested because I needed foundational skills. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Once I had solid foundations, I could go deeper on my own.
But here’s the most important part: none of this matters if you don’t apply what you learn.
You can hire the best coach, read all the books, take all the courses - if you don’t execute, the needle won’t move. You’ll stay stuck. Knowledge without action is just expensive entertainment.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Even with consistency and learning, success isn’t guaranteed.
Sometimes luck matters. Timing matters. Being in the right place at the right moment matters. You can do everything “right” and still not get the outcome you want.
But here’s what I know for sure: consistency without improvement is a slow road to nowhere. You’ll get stuck, frustrated, and eventually give up like everyone else.
So if you’re showing up every day, grinding away, wondering why things aren’t clicking, maybe the question isn’t “Am I being consistent enough?”
Maybe the question is: “What am I not learning that I need to learn?”
If this hit home and you want to talk through where you might be plateauing, feel free to comment or DM me. Sometimes all it takes is an outside perspective to see what you can’t see yourself.
Great article and points. I've been focused on the truth that each of us doesn't know what we don't know. You're so right that consistency matters but continued learning is key. Thanks!
Referencing your photo: I remember those days when I could tuck my leg under me in a very comfortable pose... 2 knee replacements later and I can no longer do this. But, the good thing is I don't have any pain now ☺️