For a long time, I believed success was about luck.

You know… being in the right place at the right time.

Watching others succeed and thinking maybe they just had something I didn’t.

But the longer I’ve lived, and the more life has thrown at me, the more I’ve realized something important.

It’s not luck.

It’s persistence.

It’s showing up.

Not just on the good days.
But especially on the hard ones.

And trust me, there have been plenty of those.

There have been many days where I’ve kept showing up even when nothing seemed to be working. When progress felt slow. When things didn’t feel like they were moving forward at all.

But I still show up.

First for myself.

And second, for all of you.

One of the biggest things that keeps me going is the promise I made to Nicole.

And believing that if I keep putting in the work, eventually the right moment will come.

Not overnight.

But in baby steps.

Sometimes those moments show up in small ways.

A message from someone saying something I wrote helped them.
A comment that reminds me someone out there understands.
A small win in my businesses.

Those small moments matter.

In fact, they’re often the most important ones.

Because all the little wins make room for the bigger ones later.

Sometimes it’s like a little lightbulb goes off.

And I love those moments.

They always make me smile.

Consistency has played a huge role in rebuilding my life after grief and trauma.

Without consistency, I know exactly what would happen.

I would spiral.

Routine keeps me grounded.

I wake up at the same time.
I go to bed around the same time.
I work.
I eat.
I stick to a structure that helps keep me steady.

Without that routine, things get messy fast.

Mess with my routine and I spiral.

And while I try to stay consistent, that doesn’t mean every day is easy.

Some mornings I wake up and the trauma loop is already running before my feet even hit the floor.

Those days used to happen a lot more often.

Now maybe once or twice a week.

And when they do happen, I have tools that help me work through them.

One of the biggest ones is box breathing.

Sometimes I’ll sit in my rocking chair, put my feet up, close my eyes, and focus on my breathing.

Slow in.
Slow out.

Just letting my body calm down.

Sir Kit Kat is also pretty good at knowing when I need him.

He usually shows up right on cue.

And I’m learning something else too.

To slow down.

And to be a little more gentle with myself.

That part is still hard.

People often think success happens overnight.

But what they’re actually seeing is the result of years of consistency.

Years of showing up.

Years of trying again.

There are many different kinds of success.

And your version of success doesn’t have to look like someone else’s.

So stop comparing.

Comparison steals the joy from your own progress.

My businesses have helped give me purpose again.

They give me something to work toward.

They give me connection with people.

And they give me a reason to keep showing up every day.

If someone feels like their hard work isn’t paying off yet, my advice would be simple.

Don’t measure your progress against someone else’s highlight reel.

We all portray something online.

But what you see doesn’t always show the whole story.

Consistency matters more than appearances.

One thing I’m proud of myself for is simply this:

I keep showing up.

Even after everything.

After the grief.
After the trauma.
After the moments where getting out of bed felt like the hardest thing in the world.

I still get up.

And I still show up.

Every single day.

And I believe that matters.

Because luck isn’t magic.

Sometimes luck is simply being in the right place at the right time.

And the only way to be in the right place at the right time…

Is to keep showing up consistently.

One post.
One message.
One step at a time.

You never know which one might be the moment something changes.

So just keep showing up.

And keep being you.

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Your Turn

Do you believe success comes from luck… or persistence?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.